FIRING. 366 



remove an unnatural bony or other tumor. It raises more intense 

 fcXtcrnal inflaininatiou than we can produce by any other means. 

 It may be truly said to be the most powerful agent that we have 

 a1 our disposal. Humanity, however, will dictate, that on account 

 ol" the inllammation which it excites, and the pain it inflicts, it 

 should only be had recourse to when milder means rarely succeed. 



Some practitioners blister immediately after firing. As a gen- 

 eral usage it is highly to be reprobated. It is wanton and useless 

 cruelty. It may be required in bony tumors of considerable ex- 

 tent, and long standing, anJ. interfering materially with the ac- 

 tion of the neighboring joint. Spavin accompanied by much 

 lameness, and ring-bone spi ^ading round the coronet and involv- 

 ing the side cartilages or the pastern joint, may justify it. The 

 inflammation is rendered m^re intense, and of considerably longer 

 duration. In old affections' of the round bone it may be admitted, 

 but no excuse can be made for it in slighter cases of sprain or 

 weakness, or staleness. 



On the day after the o^ieration, it will be prudent gently 

 to rub some neat's foot oil, or lard, over the wound. This will 

 soften the skin, and render it less likely to separate or ulcerate. A 

 bandage would add to the irritation of the part. Any cracks of 

 the skin, or ulcerations that may ensue, must be treated with the 

 calamine ointment. 



It will be evident that there is an advantage derived from 

 firing to which a blister can have no pretension. The skin, par- 

 tially destroyed by the iron, is reinstated and healed, not merely 

 by the formation of some new matter filling up the vacuity, but 

 by the gradual drawing together and closing of the separated 

 edges. The skin, therefore, is lessened in surface. It is tight- 

 ened over the part, and it acts, as just described, as a salutary 

 and permanent bandage. Of the effect of pressure in removing 

 enlargements of every kind, as well as giving strength to the part 

 to which it is applied, we Lave repeatedly spoken ; and it is far 

 from bL'ing the least valuable effect of the operation of firing, 

 that, by contracting the skin, it affords a salutary, equable, and 

 permanent pressure. For whatever reason the horse is fired, he 

 shoukl, if possible, be turned out, or soiled in a loose box, for three 

 or four months at least. The full effect intended to result from 

 the external irritation is not soon produced, and the benefit de- 

 rived from pressure proceeds still more slowly. 



The firing in every case should be either in longitudinal or par- 

 allel lines. On the back sinews, the fetlocks, and the coronet, 

 this is peculiarly requisite, for thus only will the skin contract so 

 as to form the greatest and most equable pressure. The lines 

 should be about half an inch from each other.*" 



* Note by Mr. /S^ooner.-^Notwithstaading its seeming cruelty, it cannot 



