46 ON THE NAVICULAR DISEASE. 



labouring; under navicular lameness do evince this 

 symptom than is generally known. 



I usually ask the question, in these cases of lame- 

 ness, whether the horse points his foot ; and am 

 frequently answered by the master and servant, 

 both at the same instant, in the nes'ative ; and very 

 fairly too, they not deeming the horse a pointer un- 

 less he projects his foot under the manger. How- 

 ever, my rule is, never to place any reliance on this 

 statement ; and, therefore, on a quiet examination 

 in the stable, unobserved by the animal himself, I 

 generally catch him in the fact ; probably not ex- 

 tending the lame foot out a yard before him, but 

 projecting only about a hand's breadth before the 

 other foot, the muscles of the sound limb tense, and 

 principally supporting the superincumbent weight, 

 vv^hilst all the joints of the lame limb would faintly 

 exhibit a relaxed position, the animal evidently re- 

 clinino'his weioht on the extensor muscles and ten- 

 dons, from the knee to the front of the large pastern 

 joint, not conveying any to the sessamoids, and, 

 finally, receiving it entirely on the front of the foot. 

 False pointin • Many liorscs acquire this mode of shifting their 

 Komi- Wsos ^^ ^^,j^.|j^ jjj l_jj^ stable without pointing the foot, or 



betraying the least visible suspicious circumstance, 

 except to a judge expressly on the look-out. 



As a proof, I have repeatedly seen the lame foot 

 apparently flat on the pavement, when, on a more 



cone 



