MOORCROFT’S LETTERS. 
449 
Letter III. 
From Mr. Moorcroft to Captain Codrington. 
Oxford Street, Jan. 27, 1804. 
Dear Sir, — The mode of treatment you have adopted with re- 
gard to the crack is as judicious as can be imagined. The only 
alteration that I would suggest is, that I would recommend a thin 
firing-iron to be drawn over the hoof on the upper part that is near 
the coronet, at the distance of about a line from the hair, and very 
superficial there, but a little deeper as the horn becomes thicker, 
and about a quarter of an inch distance apart, taking care, at the 
same time, that you do not penetrate too deep, in which case you 
would do much mischief, but a gentle stimulus would hasten the 
formation of new horn. Now, with regard to your other case. My 
reason for introducing this subject is, that I see you consider the 
horse given to you as decidedly lame from contraction, and there- 
fore attempt to cure him. I have some doubt as to whether it 
may not be a complicated case : — I will explain. 
Lameness from contraction alone is generally, with proper means 
and time, curable ; but it often happens that lameness is coupled 
with contraction, where the contraction is only an accidental or 
aggravating and not a primary or essential cause : for instance, a 
-horse in a down-leap, or in a violent start on the road, pitches 
with the middle and point of his frog on a pointed stone, or clod 
of frozen earth ; he generally suffers at the time more or less, 
sometimes but little. However, I will put the case strongly — he 
is very lame ; the lameness, although it may gradually diminish, 
does not go away altogether — contraction, from favouring that foot, 
takes place. It has been a favourite doctrine, that, wherever con- 
traction and lameness exist together, the removal of the contraction 
will produce a removal of the lameness. I have seen very many 
instances of the contrary : it is true, the removal of the contraction 
has removed as much of the lameness as depended upon that ; and 
in proportion as it was great or little, it had more or less influence 
in increasing the lameness ; but, in reasoning alone, you will ob- 
serve that the removal of one of the effects of a cause is not likely 
