602 
TREATMENT OF NAVICULARTHRITIS. 
having taught tlfem that seldom any “good” resulted from having 
to do with them. Many a fine-looking horse, going lame from no 
visible cause whatever, has been bought at the hammer, a “ bar- 
gain,” as it was at the time thought, who has turned out after long 
and skilful treatment still a lame horse, and in the end proved any 
thing but “ a bargain” to his purchaser. 
The medical aphorism, that what has been a long time in com- 
ing will take a long time to go away, will be found of especial 
application in navicularthritis; and what renders the navicularthritic 
case still worse in prospect is, its known tendency to relapse. It 
is vexatious enough to have a valuable horse, in the bloom of health 
and condition, fall lame in one of his feet without any blame being 
imputable either to his groom or his rider, and with nothing to be seen 
or felt by either of them to account for his lameness; but the vexa- 
tion becomes doubled when the owner comes to be informed that 
the animal’s lameness is of a nature which will not only require 
his being let out of condition, but that will necessarily occupy some 
considerable time in being treated after a manner which affords the 
best promise of the horse standing sound in his work afterwards. 
It is any thing but an agreeable duty on the part of the veterinarian 
to feel himself forced to make such disclosures as these ; and I may 
add, unless he be prudent enough to make such preliminaries un- 
derstood, the treatment of the case may, in the end, prove any thing 
but creditable to him or satisfactory to his employer. 
The Treatment of Navicularthritis may be either of a 
mild or soothing description, or such as affords relief rather by the 
absence of annoyance and irritation than by any especial curative 
influence in the means employed ; or it may consist in the adop- 
tion of such remedial means as are proved to possess positive power 
over the disease present. In a case of navicularthritis which is 
quite recent, the preferable plan of procedure is this negative form 
of treatment; such being advantageous both on account of the less 
alarming aspect it presents to the owner of the lame animal, and 
because very frequently-^-supposing the horse to be put under it 
immediately after the lameness shews itself — soundness will result 
from it. I am quite aware it may be said that this is dallying with 
the case — losing time by treatment — which, supposing it does suc- 
ceed, may fail to permanently remove the lameness. I am not of 
opinion, however, that the short time occupied by such palliation 
materially affects the subsequent and more appropriate treatment 
of the case ; and as it very frequently happens that it is desirable 
to have the horse restored to soundness in a short interval of time, 
and without blemish to his foot or leg, even though such restora- 
tion cannot for certainty be depended on to last, I think the simple 
plan of treatment I am about to describe, in cases that are truly 
