166 TREATMENT AFTER FIRING. 



effects ; but in dealing with synovial membranes the passage of even a 

 fine needle more than once is dangerous. * On the other hand, no bad 

 results need be feared from penetrating a synovial sheath, provided 

 the puncture be made with a single application. The minute channels 

 are aseptic when made with a red-hot instrument, and provided the 

 needle be sufficiently fine, and the operation completed with one 

 movement, they remain so. It is not necessary, however, in dealing 

 with dropsical synovial sheaths that all the points should penetrate 

 the sac ; as a rule one actual puncture is sufficient. In other tissues 

 two or three punctures may be made. In certain cases the operation 

 may be followed by the application of a blister. 



The emollient dressings formerly employed after firing appear 

 in the light of later experience to be contra-indicated, as they favour 

 suppuration, retard healing, and tend to increase the area of the 

 wounds and of the subsequent cicatrices. They should certainly 

 not be employed immediately after operation. When the inflamma- 

 tion of the skin after firing is intense, antiseptic lotions or powders 

 may be employed. If, on the other hand, the reaction is insufficient, 

 a blister of biniodide of mercury, or cantharides may be applied 

 immediately or within a day or two after firing. In thoroughbreds 

 and other horses with a fine skin the application of a blister to the 

 fired surface should be deferred until the wounds made by the cautery 

 have healed and the local swelling has disappeared. For these 

 animals the blister should be about half the strength of that applied 

 to draught horses. 



The results of firing vary greatly according to the method 

 employed. A day after superficial firing considerable swelling and 

 more or less abundant exudation especially from the lines or points, 

 will be observed. The liquid dries, forming yellowish-grey crusts, 

 covering the whole region. The horse has pain in moving, shows 

 marked lameness and intense local irritation . As long as these continue 

 the horse must be closely watched, and care taken to prevent the 

 parts being bitten, scratched or rubbed against neighbouring objects. 

 The best method is to tie the animal to the pillar reins, or to a ring 

 above the manger, apply a cradle to the neck, and dust the fired 

 surface with a mixture of boric acid, zinc oxide and kaolin. The 

 crusts become loose towards the eighth, tenth, or fifteenth day ; 

 to assist separation the parts may be bathed with warm water, or 

 preferably dressed with an antiseptic ointment. 



If the skin tends to crack, the parts are covered with boric 

 vaseline or glycerine. At a later stage the scabs produced by the 

 cautery disappear. When extending deeply and implicating the 



