VETERINARY JURISPRUDENCE. 
417 
was a bulb extremely sensitive on the corresponding place on the 
outside. He could not say that the operation had been performed, 
but he thought there had been a bungling attempt at it. It was 
often resorted to in these cases ; it could not cure the disease, but 
it concealed it by removing the lameness. 
As to the thrush in the off foot, it was of that nature, that it 
must have existed a fortnight or three weeks, and was also 
unsoundness. 
Mr. James Turner had likewise examined the horse towards 
the latter part of March, and had pronounced him to be then 
lame in both fore feet, but lamer in the off foot than in the 
near, although this afterwards varied. He had observed the 
marks to which Mr. Field had referred, but could not associate 
them with the operation of neurotomy, or even a bungling 
attempt at it. That on the outside seemed to have been acci¬ 
dental, that on the inner side arose from cutting ; they were some¬ 
what removed from the situation of the nerve, and he had ascer¬ 
tained that the main trunk of the nerve was perfect. The lame¬ 
ness of the off foot arose partly from thrush ; that of the near foot, 
from contraction, and that peculiar species of contraction which 
w 7 as from below upwards. Although the foot seemed to retain its 
circularity, there was actually considerable contraction, which 
occasioned compression on the navicular joint; and when the foot 
was called on to perform rapid action, the descent of the navicular 
bone was opposed, and this produced inflammation of the sinovial 
membrane of the joint. The terderness and pain necessarily 
accompanying inflammation of this membrane were the cause of 
this lameness. It seemed, when he saw it, to be more functional 
than organic disease, and he believed that it existed at the time of 
sale. The causes of this peculiar contraction were various; the prin¬ 
cipal ones, perhaps, were confinement in the stable, the absence of 
moisture, and the common method of shoeing. The feet of all 
horses, after being long shod, become more or less contracted, 
occultly and really so, although the circular form seemed to 
remain as perfect as ever. He carefully distinguished between 
contraction generally, and this particular species of it from below 
upwards, interfering with the descent of the navicular bone, 
bruising and inflaming the sinovial membrane, and producing in¬ 
flammation and lameness. The thrush must have existed a fort¬ 
night or three weeks, in order to account for the degree of lameness 
in the off foot. 
Mr. Boutal had also examined the horse. It was lame, and 
from navicular disease; and which disease must have existed at 
the time of sale. 
On the part of the defendant, one of his servants swore that the 
horse had the finest feet in the world; that he had known him 
vol. v. 3 L 
