202 



FIRING FOR SPAVIN. 



as it should 

 fired for spavin. 



will stand quite well with an ordinary twist on and the opposite hind 

 leg tied forward with a rope or strap around the neck. The best is 

 putting in a frame, with the 

 irons a dull-red heat. 

 Catch a firm hold about ten 

 or twelve inches back, and 

 draw the edge backward 

 and forward rapidly on the 

 floor, rolling the edge a lit- 

 tle, right and left, so that the 

 whole surface will be pol- 

 ished smooth. Now draw 

 the edge down, forming 

 the main outline creases : 

 of course they come nearer 

 together at the bottom than 



at top. And now for an A view of the leg when 

 important point You must drawn forward after 

 not burn through the skin, firing. 

 yet as near it as you safely can. Your hand must 

 new of a leg be perfectly steady, and, the instant you rest the 

 edge on the skin, draw it steadily but carefully, at 

 one stroke, to the end of the line. There should 

 be a dull white line, of a uniform size and color. Your eye should 

 be on the iron, and the effect it is producing. If the iron is very hot, 

 it acts too quick, and may burn through if you are not very careful, 

 which is what you must avoid if you would avoid 

 blemishing; for, wherever the skin is broken 

 through, sloughing will follow, unless you arrest it 

 by using an astringent, and then you cannot always 

 prevent such a result. If the iron is at just the 

 point of heat so that it will burn, but not too rap- 

 idly, you are able to repeat the stroke two or three 

 times to get it just what you desire. 



Without the perpendicular lines made 

 now, you should commence at the bot- 

 ________ torn, and draw obliquely from one line to 



Firing for ringbone. the . ot \ er slowly but steadily, like an 

 Lines perpemlicu- artist who draws a fine brush to make a 

 lar (no cross-lines) stripe. The heavier you draw the iron, 



SSap^as'for and hotter k is ' the deeper it will cut; 



spavin. so that the colder the iron becomes, the 



slower and heavier you must draw it, and 

 the hotter the quicker and lighter. Do not make the dis- 

 tance between these lines less than seven-sixteenths 

 of an inch apart, and not much, if any, over a half inch. 



If you run them much nearer together, and at all 

 heavy, the whole skin would possibly slough ; while, 

 if you make the lines much farther apart, you will not A side view of a leg 

 get the amount of inflammation you desire. As one 

 iron gets cold, put it in the fire, and take out the 

 other. If too hot, plunge it into water until just 



fired for i" nan >- 



