4(;'2 BLISTERING. 



may assist in subduing the first and more dangerous one. In blistering, 

 liowever, for injuries or diseases of the legs or feet, some caution is 

 necessary. Wlien speaking of the treatment of sprain of the back sinews, 

 it was stated, that ' a blister should never be used while any great heat 

 or tenderness remained about the part,' for we should then add to the 

 superficial inflammation, instead of abating the deeper-seated one, and 

 enlargements of the limb and extensive ulcerations might follow, which 

 would render the horse perfectly unserviceable. When there is a tendency 

 to grease, a blister is a dangerous thing, and has often aggravated the 

 disease. In winter, the inflammation of the skin produced by blistei-ing 

 is apt to degenerate into grease ; therefore, if it should be necessary tc 

 blister the horse during that season, great care must be taken that he i.s 

 not exposed to cold, and, particularly, that a current of cold air does not 

 come upon the legs. 



The inhuman practice of blistering all round at the same time, and 

 perhaps high on the legs, cannot be too strongly reprobated. Many a 

 valuable horse has been lost through the excessive general irritation which 

 this has produced, or its violent efl^ect on the urinary organs, and that has 

 been particularly the case, when corrosive sublimate has entered into the 

 composition of the blister. 



Amongst other substances employed as counter-irritants, the prepara- 

 tions of iodine have recently occupied a prominent position ; all the pre- 

 parations of iodine are more or less valuable from their marked effect on 

 the absorbent system, but the one most commonly used as a counter- 

 irritant is a combination of iodine and mercury, named the biniodide of 

 mercury, in the form of ointment consisting of one drachm of the biniodide 

 to one ounce of lard. This should be appHed in the same manner as the 

 ointment of cantharides, but not over so great a surface on account of its 

 irritating effects. For bony enlargements such as splint, spa\'in, or ring- 

 bone, this preparation v^^ill be found far superior to all others. When 

 immediate action is required, half a pound or a pound of good miistard 

 powder, made into a paste '\\'ith cold water, and applied, will often produce 

 as good a blister as cantharides. It is a preferable one, when, as in 

 inflammation of the kidneys, the effect of cantharides on the urinary 

 organs is feared. Hartshorn is not so effectual. 



FIRING. 



Whatever seeming cruelty may attend this operation, it is in many 

 cases indispensable. The principle on which we have recourse to it ia 

 similar to that Avhich justifies the use of a blister — by producing super- 

 ficial inflammation we may be enabled to get rid of a deeper-seated one, 

 or we may excite the absorbents to remove an unnatural bony or other 

 tumour. It raises more intense external inflammation than we can produce 

 by any other means. It may be truly said to be the most powerful agent 

 that we have at our disposal. Humanity, however, will dictate, that on 

 account of the inflammation which it excites, and the pain it inflicts, it 

 should only be had recoui-se to when milder means have failed, except in 

 those cases in which experience has taught us that milder means rarely 

 succeed. 



The part which is to be submitted to the operation should be shaved, or 

 the hair cut from it as closely as possible with the trimming scissors. 

 This is necessary in order to bring the iron into inmiediate contact with 

 the skin, and likewise to prevent the smoke that will arise from the burned 

 hair obscuring the view of the operator. The horse must then be thrown. 

 This is absolutely necessary for the safety both of the operator and the 

 animal. The side-line may be applied in a shorter time, and so many 



