CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 8^ 



the foot of the horse, if we may take his last edition 

 as a specimen of his pathological researches. 



Having given Mr. Freeman credit for clearly 

 shewing that iron and nails^ by fettering the elastic 

 foot, ultimately contract the horny box ; and having 

 extolled the praises of Mr. Bracy Clark for unceas- 

 ingly reminding the veterinary world of the abstract 

 fact for a long series of years ; I shall now proceed, 

 for the purpose of shewing that neither Mr, Free- 

 man nor Mr. Clark, as their works will testify, had 

 the most distant idea of the manner in which the 

 iron fetter worked its baneful influence by causing 

 a morbid elevation of all the bones of the foot. 



For ages the foot of the horse has been known to 

 be an highly elastic organ ; and the two authors 

 abovementioned, and others, have clearly shewn 

 that the common shoe, by its inflexibility, fixes 

 both the quarters of the foot ; and, by opposing 

 Nature in the exercise of the elastic apparatus, the 

 hoof contracts, and ultimately the coffin bone dimi- 

 nishes in size, in consequence of pressure from the 

 contracted horn. Now this view of the matter is 

 partially correct ; but there are some very import- 

 ant patholoo^ical facts, exclusively of the navicular ^ 

 ioint disease, which they have altos^ether omitted tiwiosicai tact* 



•J -' i' O never betore 



to notice in their elaborate publications. The rea- published. 

 der will perceive that I am referring to the morbid 

 ascent of the bones of the foot, the particulars of 

 which will be found in paper No. VI. 



If it be true that this invasion or encroachment 



