PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF FEET. 819 



723. All practitioners, and horsemen of much experience, will have 

 noticed that when horses begin to get uneasy on their fore-limbs 

 and unsafe in action, in other words, when permanent lameness is 

 threatening, a commonly prevalent characteristic anomaly is a 

 tightness of the sinews just behind and below the knee. Atten- 

 tion is usually fixed on that part, and all the rest overlooked. Very 

 early in my career I noticed these conditions, and doubted in my 

 own mind the conclusion that a sprain had happened locally, to 

 account for what was observed. 



It was long, however, before 1 arrived at any exact knowledge 

 in the matter, or succeeded in doing anything beyond following 

 the ordinary injurious and useless practice. But it was a good be- 

 ginning to get rid of all mischievous interference. I next made out 

 that the state of the limb was in some way caused by that of the 

 feet by the shoeing; for it never appeared in unshod horses if 

 ever so severely exerted. Having determined that I had a foot- 

 derangement to deal with, I then succeeded in curing cases, my 

 remedy consisting in taking off the shoes, and taking measures for 

 strengthening the hoofs. Nor did I find it necessary to keep the 

 horses at rest, though it is not often practicable to find work that 

 horses can do, and a ground surface congenial to their going bare- 

 footed. But when the mind is awakened, and intent on the further- 

 ance of an object, opportunities are made; and so it happened with 

 me. I was in practice at Florence in those years, in a climate 

 favorable for making some such trials as I aimed at prosecuting; I 

 had the advantage of observing customs in other localities. I saw 

 horses trained without shoes able to hold their own with those more 

 systematically brought out on our plan, and perceived that their 

 legs fltood sound. So far, I had achieved little more than negative 

 results for all practical purposes, because a plan that prescribes 

 that horses must go barefooted does not accomplish any .of the re- 

 quirements of the art of farriery. The next stage in the inquiry 

 was to determine the relative effects between good and bad shoe- 

 ing, .an-d in what these respectively consisted. This I was able to 

 do, though it was a work of much cost, labor, and years of time. 



Fig. 724 is a representation of the coffin and navicular bones of 

 one of the fore feet of a horse similarly affected in both; with the 

 difference in the one represented that a compound fracture of the 

 navicular-bone had occurred, as is plainly exhibited. Firm reunion 

 of the fragments was completed before the horse was destroyed. 



The subject was an aged grey, latterly white, gelding, in his 

 time well known to horsemen of Edinburgh as an exceptionally good 

 horse, a fast-goer in the field and on the road. 



In 1861 the pupils of the new Veterinary College bought the 

 poor horse, in a miserable state of lameness, as a subject to dissect. 

 On of the complications, which was a source of inconceivable 

 agony, was a quittor. As it appeared that relief might soon be 

 afforded, and the case made very instructive, the subject was taken 

 up for treatment, with the most satisfactory result. Belief from 

 pain was soon attained; and restoration ensued, and progressed as 



