THE 
VETERINARIAN. 
VOL. XXV, 
No. 299. 
NOVEMBER, 1852. 
Third Series, 
No. 59. 
NAVICULARTHRITIS IN THE HIND FOOT. 
By Jas. Rainsford, V.S., 4tli Dragoon Guards. 
A chesnut gelding, 8 years old, the property of an officer 
of the 4th Dragoon Guards, fell lame of his near hind leg 
(the lameness supposed to be in the fetlock joint). Four 
days after the accident, I was requested to see him. Upon 
examination, I could not detect any cause for the lameness in 
the part above named; but, from his resting the limb on his 
toe, as well as from his evincing pain from compression of 
the flexor tendon, at the back of the small pastern, with in¬ 
creased heat in that part, I gave it as my opinion that the 
navicular joint was the seat of injury. (“ Absurd ! whoever 
heard of navicular in hind feet ?” This settled the question 
against me.) A private practitioner was called in, who co¬ 
incided in the first opinion (fetlock-joint lameness), and re¬ 
commended blistering. This was done, and was repeated, 
but without any benefit. The horse was taken to Man¬ 
chester, and put in charge of a private practitioner. Re¬ 
peated blistering was resorted to, but the lameness still 
continued. As a last resource, he was turned out to grass 
for a couple of months, at the end of which time he was taken 
up. I again was requested to see the animal. I now found 
the heels deep and narrow, and the sole cupped, &c., all 
which convinced me I had no reason to deviate from my for¬ 
mer opinion; it was now a case of incurable navicularthritis. 
The horse was in consequence destroyed. The whole of the 
joints of the affected limb, from the hip to the head of the 
small pastern, were examined, without finding the slightest 
trace of disease; but in turning down the flexor tendon over 
the navicular bone, the seat of disease became apparent. 
Adhesion and ulceration had taken place. There existed two 
exulcerations, one on each side of the protuberance of the 
bone, large enough to admit a small pea, which were filled 
vol. xxv. 4 l 
