26 
DR. G. C. PRITCHARD. 
ever settle the question with reference to an unbalanced foot 
being the cause of spavin, and therefore dropped the subject as 
being too simple to engage the attention of a scientific veteri¬ 
narian for one moment; and kept right on firing and blistering 
spavin and ringbone with indifferent success ; and all the time 
leaving undone the most essential part of the treatment, i. e.^ 
removing the cause. 
Perhaps it might not come amiss for me to tell you right now 
how I was convinced that the theory advanced by Mr. Bonner 
had a substantial basis. Several years ago I owned a stallion, 
a son of Riley Medium. He was quite promising, so I turned 
him over to a professional trainer ; the trainer allowed his feet 
to get exceptionally long, and the result of his long feet behind 
was a spavin which formed directly in front on the head of the 
large metatarsus, the enlargement filling up the acute angle of 
the hock. Of course this personal observation was very con¬ 
vincing and led me to investigating along this line, and, gentle¬ 
men, when I tell you the result of my investigations has led me 
to conclude that the statements made by Mr. Bonner are entirely 
correct, you will undoubtedly think me as great a crank as I 
would any of you with a like statement ten years ago. I take it 
for granted, gentlemen, that we are all anxious to learn any new 
ideas pertaining to veterinary science, and whether we adopt 
them wholly or in part each will have broadened his vision and 
observation, and although what at first might apear to be a 
trifling matter, as we become better acquainted with the sub¬ 
ject we might look at it in a vastly different light and see much 
good in a thing that at first thought might appear of but little 
consequence. 
The inexhaustible subject of the foot of the horse has en¬ 
gaged the attention of many eminent veterinarians and others 
interested in the horse for hundreds of years, and notwithstand¬ 
ing the remarkable progress made in the last decade in veteri¬ 
nary science—yet it is a regretable fact that but little, if any, im¬ 
provement has been made in the method of shoeing horses for 
the past one hundred years of more. Yes, practically the same 
