176 TREATMENT OF NAVICULARTHRITIS. 



of health — while it is, in fact, what they would call ^'a good foot." 

 Neither is it an easy matter to explain to persons unacquainted 

 with the anatomy and physiology of that beautiful but complex 

 piece of animal structure, the horse's foot, how all this comes to 

 pass. And less satisfactory still comes the announcement which 

 the veterinary surgeon feels it his duty in such cases to make to 

 the proprietor of the lame horse, that the lameness is of a nature 

 requiring the horse to be laid up out of work for some length of 

 time, and that treatment, even under every advantage of repose, is 

 not always — and particularly when the lameness has been of con- 

 siderable duration, or proves to be a relapse — so efficacious in 

 restoring soundness as he himself, as well as his employer, have 

 reason to desire. 



Farriers and grooms, and persons conversant in the ailments of 

 horses, have always attached ill omens to cases of lameness in 

 which nothing was to be discovered to account for lameness : they 

 have ever " fought shy" of such cases, and been evidently myste- 

 rious and guarded in their opinions concerning them, experience 

 having taught them that seldom any " good" resulted from having 

 to do with them. Many a fine-looking horse, going lame from no 

 visible cause whatever, has been bought at the hammer, a " bar- 

 gain" as it was at the time thought, who has turned out after long 

 and skilful treatment still a lame horse, and in the end proved any 

 thing but " a bargain" to his purchaser. 



The medical aphorism, that what has been a long time in com- 

 ing will take a long time to go away, will be found of especial 

 application in navicularthritis; and what renders the navicularthritic 

 case still worse in prospect is, its known tendency to relapse. It 

 is vexatious enough to have a valuable horse, in the bloom of health 

 and condition, fall lame in one of his feet without any blame being 

 imputable either to his groom or his rider, and with nothing to be seen 

 or felt by either of them to account for his lameness; but the vexa- 

 tion becomes doubled when the owner comes to be informed that 

 the animal's lameness is of a nature which will not only require 

 his being let out of condition, but that will necessarily occupy some 

 considerable time in being treated after a manner which affords the 

 best promise of the horse standing sound in his work afterwards. 



