218 THE STOCK owner's ADVISER. 



the hair should first be clipped from the parts. The j)reparation 

 should be applied with smart friction for about ten minutes. To 

 obtain the full effect of a blister, a quantity of ointment is to be 

 thickly laid on after the rubbing in is completed. 



Blister but two legs at a time, and do not repeat the applica- 

 tion until after six or seven days. The horse's head should be 

 tied to the rack after a blister has been applied, that he may not 

 put his nose to it. Tie him so that he cannot lie down. If the 

 blistered spot be in reach of the tail, it should be tied up, other- 

 wise it is apt to become daubed and the blister whipped on the 

 thighs, sheath, or mammary gland. In about twelve hours, 

 what remains on the surface should be rubbed in. In about 

 forty-eight hours after the application, it should be washed off 

 and a little grease or oil'should be applied. The horse may now 

 be untied, and should be loose in a box stall. Firing, or the 

 application of the actual cautery, often removes pain very rap- 

 idly after rej^eated blisters have failed. In bone diseases it is of 

 great benefit. In fact, it is almost the only treatment for ring- 

 bones and sjDavins. The firing may be in lines and superficial, 

 the transverse method being the least calculated to blemisli, or 

 it may be in points and deep, by pyropuncture, and into the dis- 

 eased structure. This latter method is the more easily per- 

 formed, and the more effective. 



