192 NEUROTOMY. 



mation as a man of sound, penetrating, practical observation, has 

 put two cases on record of great value to us in this place. 



Case 1. — October 1, 1819, a bay gelding, belonging to his regi- 

 ment, the 12th Lancers, fell suddenly lame of the near fore leg 

 on the road between Hounslow Barracks and Hampton Court. 

 Nothing was discovered to account for the lameness, either in the 

 leg or foot. He was immediately placed under treatment, bled in 

 the foot, physicked, &c., but all to no purpose. At the expiration 

 of a month, although he stood in the stable as firmly upon one foot 

 as upon the other, yet, when put in motion, " he was as lame 

 almost as if his leg was broken." The shoulder was now imagined 

 to be in fault, and under such a supposition was tended ; but with 

 no better success than when the foot was treated. On the 10th of 

 January following, it was determined to try the effect of nerving 

 (neurotomy). The horse arose after the operation, ^' and trotted 

 sound. In a month he was in the ranks, and he remained in the 

 regiment upwards of eight years afterwards, during which time he 

 continued quite sound, although he was sometimes put to very 

 considerable exertion." In 1828 the horse was " cast and sold" 

 at Lisbon, the regiment being at the time in Portugal ; not, how- 

 ever, on account of lameness, but for old age, and even then " he 

 fetched £20." 



Case 2 of Mr. Castley's is one in which both fore feet were 

 successfully operated upon. A brown gelding, a troop horse, had 

 been observed frequently to stand pointing or resting the fore feet, 

 and particularly the off foot. For two years, however, after first 

 observing this, he had not been reported " lame ;" nor did he 

 become absolutely so until the hot summer of 1826, when, after a 

 severe ride on despatch duty, he went very lame in the off fore 

 leg, for which (on the 14th June) treatment was commenced, such 

 as bloodletting from the foot, blistering the coronet, purging, &c. 

 and this produced great relief. Exercise, however, brought back the 

 lameness. The latter end of August, the lameness being regarded as 

 " chronic," and Mr. Castley's conviction being that it was "navicular 

 lameness," neurotomy was determined on, and on the 1st of Sep- 

 tember was put in practice. As in the last case, the horse arose 



