180 TREATMENT OF NAVICULARTHRITIS. 



first blood-letting, as soon, at least, as the wound in the sole is suffi- 

 ciently healed, by what is familiarly known as "a sweating blister." 



Now, to make myself in this matter understood — in a case brought 

 for treatment as soon as lameness is discovered, and which has 

 been preceded by no previous lameness in the same foot from the 

 same cause — in other words, is no relapse — as I have before 

 observed, from simply leaving off the shoe, and putting the foot into 

 a warm bath, and afterwards a hot poultice, will the lameness very 

 commonly subside. The stability of such a cure, however, not 

 being reliable upon, this simple treatment may either be from the 

 first rejected on the score of its inefficiency, and such as I am now 

 describing — bleeding and sweating — adopted in its stead ; or, this 

 latter treatment may be kept back in reserve for the relapse, which 

 is but with too much reason to be apprehended as the conse- 

 quence of severe work, even here. For the single blood-letting 

 and sweating blister still falls short of what is practicable for the 

 permanent relief of the case ; but then it will occupy less time, 

 and be attended with less blemish, than the most severe form 

 of treatment. 



Supposing a horse lame from navicularthritis brought for treat- 

 ment — as such cases usually are in private practice — so long after 

 the first shew of lameness that it is evident warm baths and poul- 

 tices are put altogether out of the question, the point then will turn 

 on the expediency of submitting the animal to this single blood- 

 letting and sweating blistering in preference to laying him up for 

 so much greater length of time as an extreme plan of treatment 

 would necessarily demand. It may make a difference of a month 

 or six weeks, and such often becomes a considerable objection. In 

 such a case, after the wound is sufficiently healed to admit of a tip 

 being nailed on — care being taken that any festering that may have 

 been engendered is at an end, and replaced by granulative action — 

 a sweating blister should be applied upon the pastern and coronet ; 

 the best application we can use being, in my opinion, the acetum 

 cantharidum. To produce the desired effect nothing more is 

 required than to paint — if I may make use of the expression — the 

 hair of the pastern and coronet, in the direction it grows, with a 



