356 
VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
MARCH 25, 1830. 
Mr. Henderson in the Chair.* 
The latter part of Mr. Goodwin’s paper, being on Spavin, was 
taken into consideration. 
Mr. Goodwin produced a case of spavin in a fine horse which 
had belonged to his Majesty, and which had cost 350 guineas at 
five years old. It had had curbs, and had been fired for them. 
Four or five years ago it had become stiff in its hind legs, and it 
was lamer on one than on the other; but, as the lameness went 
off after the horse had been ridden for a short time, no serious 
notice was taken of the case, and the disease was left to make 
such progress, that, when he was at length given up for treat¬ 
ment, he was past all cure. He was, however, blistered, and 
turned out; but when turned out, he became worse, and was, at 
length, destroyed. In the off-hock, in which there was the least 
lameness, there was no exostosis, no alteration of form in the 
joint, but ulceration of the synovial membrane with slight caries 
of the cuneiform bones. 
In the near hock the disease had gone on to ulceration, and he 
could not, even with a chisel, separate the two cuneiform bones 
from each other, or from the cannon bone. In neither was there 
any heat, and no external appearance to indicate the seat of dis¬ 
ease. Many horses were brought lame to every veterinary sur¬ 
geon without any apparent cause of lameness. Coachmen and 
veterinary surgeons, too, were apt to fancy it in every place but 
the right: for his own part, if there were no circumstances to 
direct his attention elsewhere, he should be inclined to attribute 
a lameness before to the navicular joint, and behind to the hock, 
and to these cuneiform bones as forming a portion of the hock. 
He was inclined to think that extensive curbs, if not completely 
cured, were frequently followed by spavin. 
Mr. Boutal confirmed this last assertion ; he had repeatedly 
seen spavin following curb. 
Mr. Langworthy asked, whether Mr. Goodwin considered this 
ulceration of the synovial membrane of the cuneiform bones to be 
the commencement of spavin, or whether the common exostosis 
might not exist without this. 
Mr. Goodwin was aware that there might be exostosis about 
the top of the smaller metatarsals, which had nothing to do with 
this affection of the cuneiform bones. He had seen many enor- 
