FIRING OK THE ACTUAL CAUTERY 167 



minutes prior to operating, undoubtedly reduces the pain to the animal, 

 and risk to the surgeon who undertakes to fire while the patient is stand- 

 ing. Plain lines about three-quarters of an inch apart probably answer 

 quite as well as the most artistic patterns where the firing is intended to 

 act upon a considerable area, as, for instance, in broken-down ligaments 

 and tendons; but in the case of bony growths, as spavins, side-bones, and 

 splints, punctures may be made with a fine-pointed iron (fig. 511) heated 

 in a fire, or by an aluminium point heated by spirit vapour, as practised 

 in the use of the thermo-cautery. Whether an iron or aluminium instru- 

 ment is used, the acting surface of the implement should be slightly 

 rounded at the edge, and applied in such a manner as to burn until a 

 dull white appearance of the skin is produced, but avoiding complete 

 division of it, which might result in sloughing and permanent blemish. 



Besides the immediate superficial inflammation produced by the iron, 

 which should be at red heat 

 when taken from the fire, it 

 is claimed for this ancient 



method of treating lameness, Fig 51L _ Spavin . punch 



that by causing the skin to 

 thicken and contract it is made to afford permanent support to the part. 

 There are not wanting authorities who deny the claim that firing has the 

 effect of contracting the skin and producing a permanent bandage, and 

 who assert that all the beneficial results the operation confers are obtain- 

 able from repeated blisterings. Viewed from the humanitarian aspect, a 

 verdict in favour of firing might be given, in preference to blistering 

 repeatedly, as it is more than likely that a horse suffers as much pain from 

 a blister as from firing, if the latter operation is performed under chloro- 

 form. The inflammatory action set up by firing is not more painful than 

 that produced by a severe blister, and as the effects produced by the 

 former can only be obtained by a repetition of the latter there is little 

 to be said against firing on 'the score of humanity. 



The practice of applying a blister immediately to the skin already 

 treated by the iron is not desirable where the lines are drawn close together, 

 but it may be done with advantage in " open" firing. A minimum of two 

 months' rest should be ensured to a fired horse, and as much longer as 

 circumstances permit; the latter part of the time may be spent in a pad- 

 dock or well-littered yard in preference to a loose-box, where during the 

 first few weeks the patient should be confined. No good object can be 

 obtained by removing the thick and scabby layer which results from the 

 operation, and, unless an early repetition of the blister is required, it should 

 be left to fall away after an under-covering of hair has been produced. 



