OF FARRIERY. 



26: 



whe animal is rather suffering under the effects 

 of former than of present disease, this operation 

 has, by rendering the animal less susceptible to 

 the pain of pressure, enabled him to move and 

 exert himself with more ease to himself, and 

 benefit to his owner. But when violent 

 inflammation is in the foot, 1 should say that 

 must be removed, or attempted to be re- 

 moved, before the operation ought to be 

 performed. 



Sometimes it has happened in such cases, 

 by removing sensation and rendering the 

 animal willing to exert himself more than the 

 state of the parts will allow, that gneat aggra- 

 vation of the disease has frequently followed. 

 1 believe it has never been found to answer in 

 the disease called pumise foot ; the operation 

 there, is particularly hurtful. Neither should 

 I recommend it in any disease of the foot, 

 until I had tried every other means without 

 accomplishing some good ; should I not suc- 

 ceed with other applications, I then should not 

 hesitate in immediately performing this ope- 

 ration ; in others, according to circumstances 

 with the exceptions before insisted on. Neu- 

 rotomy has been found to render many Horses 

 with contracted feet, and otherwise foot-lamed, 

 not only useful, who were before nearly use- 

 less, but it has rendered them nearly as per- 

 fect in their mode of ffoinjj as ever. Some 

 have hunted, many have made excellent road- 

 sters, and all have been fitted for carriage 

 work of every description. 



The importance of this operation, though 

 great in veterinary practice, is in some mea- 

 sure removed, when attended with misfortune 

 afterwards. This I should imagine might 

 arise from the inflammation not being properly 

 n"i)Hued at the time of performing the opera- 

 lion, .so that the disease slill went on, with all 



its consequences. However, for my own part, 

 I prefer the high operation to the lower one, as 

 1 have seen less ill consequences arise from it 

 Some veterinarians prefer the lower one. Now 

 for ring-bone, the lower one should never be 

 practised. One reason for my preferring the 

 upper operation to the lower is, that after tha 

 operation, the end of the nerve frequently 

 draws itself up, forming a bulbous end ; ami 

 this coming in contact with the joint, the 

 Horse goes as lame as ever in the course of a 

 few days. What is the consequence? why 

 the high operation is obliged to be performed, 

 and the Horse is immediately upright, if a 

 similar formation manifests a disposition to 

 attach itself to the higher part of the nerve, 

 in this mode of operating, it becomes pro- 

 tected by the tendon, and nothing further is 

 heard of it ; for where no lameness returns, 

 there is reason to suppose that the disease »s 

 overcome. 



1 mentioned before that llie importance of 

 neurotomy, was in some measure lessened by 

 misfortune afterwards. 



Whilst 1 was practising in Devonshire, a 

 very large proprietor of Horses, and the mail- 

 contractor, had the misfortune to lose a Horse, 

 by both hoofs coming off, and which was not 

 discovered until the Horse arrived in the 

 hotel-yard. He evinced not the least lame- 

 ness during his journey, and to my own know- 

 led<''e, he was driven by one of the most 

 humane men who ever sat upon a box. An- 

 other instance occurred to the same gentleman, 

 and by the same coach ; on taking the Horses 

 off, one of the leaders appeared to go stiff 

 before, thinking it was a slight inflammatory 

 action of the foot, the Horse had his feet and 

 leo-s bathed in hot water. On the morrow, 

 however, he could not move his fore-feet in 



