DISEASES OF THE HORSE 157 



by weight of the drug to eight parts of fresh lard or vasehne. 

 For ordinary use the fly-blister is preferred, but to remove a 

 bunch, the red-blister is most used. 



Clip the hair from the area, then rub in blister with a cob 

 from three to ten minutes, depending on the severeness of the 

 irritation and the thickness of the skin. As a rule a light bKster 

 repeated is more effective than a single severe one. Much care 

 should be taken to see that the horse does not succeed in scatter- 

 ing the blister. To this end his head and tail should be so tied 

 that the animal cannot reach the substance. After twenty- 

 four to thirty-six hours, or when a watery, gummy fluid 

 exudes from the skin, the area should be thoroughly washed 

 with warm water and soap, then wiped dry, and greased with 

 fresh lard or vaseline. 



Mustard plasters are often used when large surfaces must be 

 treated, as in pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, and a few 

 other diseases. This plaster is made by stirring up finely ground 

 mustard with warm water into a thin paste, then applied to the 

 area and rubbed in well with a cob or stick. Mustard will prove 

 more satisfactory than fly-blisters when large areas are to be 

 treated, as the latter often irritates the kidneys, and as a result 

 there is painful passage of the urine. When such symptoms 

 appear, the fly-blister should be washed off and the part 

 greased. 



Firing. — This consists in burning the skin with a red hot iron. 

 The firing-iron is rather heavy so as to hold heat, but has 

 a sharp point. Firing is used to remove bunches, ring-bones, 

 spavins, and the like. The hair is clipped from the area, the 

 irons heated in a stove, the horse is blindfolded, a twist applied 

 to the nose, and the opposite foot is lifted and in this way the 

 one to be operated on is confined. At first the skin is barely 

 touched and the lines marked, then the lines are. burned to a good 

 russet brown by drawing the hot irons through the former lines. 

 A fly-bhster is then rubbed on the fired area and the case treated 



