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foot at this time would be very black and cold, affording evi- 

 dence of venous congestion. I regard unequal temperature 

 under equal conditions as a very suspicious symptom, if not 

 absolutely diagnostic of this disease. 



RHEUMATIC SYMPTOMS 



and those of this disease are so similar that one is mistaken 

 frequently for the other. The animal appears lamer in one 

 foot to-day and in the other to-morrow, and so on, as in rheu- 

 matism. That unrelieved pressure of the hoof upon the sensi- 

 tive structures within it should produce a great variety of 

 lesions, sometimes of the bones, especially the navicular bone, 

 and at others of the synovial membrane ; and again of the 

 flexor tendon by weakening its attachment to the coffin-bone, 

 and in short predisposes all the sensitive tissues to take on 

 specific lesions, varying according to the idiopathic tendencies 

 or proximate local causes I have not the shadow of a doubt. 

 Cases of a purely accidental nature excepted, I cannot imagine 

 the existence of navicular disease where there is no contraction. 

 I believe if all feet were shod properly we should scarcely hear 

 of a case in a few years and any hereditary tendency that 

 might exist would be rapidly eliminated. 



I have absolutely cured so many cases of diseased feet that 

 had been pronounced by good general practitioners to be the 

 subjects of navicular disease, that I never consider a case to be 

 one of that character until I have had it under treatment for 

 three or four weeks, when if I cannot have effected a very 

 marked improvement, I consider such a case to be one of ad- 

 vanced and probably incurable navicular disease. Out of 

 hundreds of such cases I have not found more than two that 

 I could so regard. I am therefore led to consider that this 

 latter disease is much more rare than it is generally supposed 

 to be. 



The true character of the disease will soon be revealed by 

 the fact that some good but not much is effected by softening 

 and expanding the foot. This process will always ameliorate 

 when it cannot cure, and gives the animal the best possible 



