94 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OP THE HORSE^S FOOT. 
though there had been no difference in the management of 
it, was much improved, and the farrier constantly remarked, 
that whereas before the operation the wall scarcely required 
any shortening, now he had to use his rasp rather freely. 
In 1870, when I sold this animal, there was no lameness, 
the hoof was good, and the growth comparatively rapid and 
regular. So much for clinical obervation. 
So long ago as 1857 Dr. Brauell,* professor at the Dorpat 
Veterinary School, reported some experiments conducted by 
Herr Grolin, which had for their object the solution of the 
problem as to whether the nerves had any particular in¬ 
fluence on the growth of the hoof, and as the results arrived 
at are valuable from the conclusions to be derived from them, 
we shall notice them here. 
The horses experimented upon were nearly all destined for 
dissection, and they had healthy hoofs; in the second experi¬ 
ment the horse had been at grass for some time, and was 
afterwards placed in a stable like the others. All the horses 
were submitted to the same regime , the quantity of food 
allowed was the same, and they all had the same attention 
paid them. 
The fore feet were pared as for shoeing, but they were 
not shod. 
An arc of a circle was traced on the wall of each foot, at 
about an inch from the lower border, so that if the hoof 
became broken the experiment would not be modified or in¬ 
terrupted. The very lowest part of the foot was not, there¬ 
fore, included, in the investigation. 
The arc was divided into millimetres, and various heights 
were measured from it up to the coronet, these different 
points were marked by small notches. These measurements 
were taken on the anterior part, and also at an equal distance 
on the outer and inner sides ; the heights were indicated by 
notches to prevent mistakes. When this had been done on 
both fore feet, neurotomy (high operation) was performed on 
the limbs, and a section of each plantar nerve, one milli¬ 
metre in length, excised. 
The animals were kept for some time, and the measure¬ 
ments were taken in the same manner at regular periods, 
and carefully noted. The wounds due to the operation were 
left to themselves after they had been closed by sutures. 
First Experiment .—A bay-brown gelding, five years old, 
neurotomised in the left fore leg on the lltli of February, 
1852. The sensation was markedly destroyed from the 
# ‘ Magazin fur die gesammte Thierlieilkunde/ Jahrg., 20, p. 389. 
