108 THE HORSE. 



is caused by a diseased condition of the navicular bone. It, 

 as a rule, occurs only in the fore feet, and affects chiefly light 

 horses used on hard roads and driven at fast paces. Navicular 

 disease always causes lameness, and is incurable. A horse 

 affected with it shows most lameness when first put to work ; 

 the lameness Avears off to a certain extent after the animal has 

 travelled some distance. The only treatment consists in un- 

 nerving the horse by neurotomy. 



Chronic Laminitis ^ also a disease of the fore feet. 

 It causes more or less lameness, and horses suffering from it 

 are not fit for doing fast work. In many cases of this un- 

 soundness, however, the horse can do satisfactoiy work as 

 a. team-horse on a farm. Chronic laminitis cannot be cured; 

 something may be done to palliate the evil by using bar shoes. 

 Feet aft'ected with this disease are frequently misshapen, while 

 generally there are a number of raised ridges or '" rings " run- 

 ning at irregular intervals round the wall of the hoof. 



Bone-spavin, which is usually briefly referred to as 

 '' spavin/' is an unsoundness having its seat low down on the 

 inside of the hock. A spavin is a bony deposit, which is 

 produced as the result of inflammation. This bony deposit 

 varies much in size; often it is very large, while it may be 

 quite small and hardly noticeable. During the incipient 

 stages of this disease, when inflammation is present in the 

 aflected part, the horse generally goes lame; and complete 

 rest is then the principal thing required; warm fomentations 

 may be frequently applied for a few days. Subsequently, tlie 

 part should be blistered, with a view of causing the absorption 

 of as much of the bony deposit as possible. Supposing blister- 

 ing is not effectual in preventing lameness, firing must be 

 resorted to. In many cases, a bone-spavin does not cause 

 actual lameness, once the spavin is fully formed: the action 

 of the affected hind leg may merely be stiff. Lameness caused 

 by spaving always decreases and wears oft', to some extent, 

 after the horse has travelled some distance; it is worst when 

 the animal leaves the stable. If a bone-spavin, after its forma- 



