Blistering and PinFiring

The rationale was that chronic inflammations could slowly generate scar tissue which would hinder performance. In order to convert the chronic condition into an acute one, veterinarians used either a firing iron with a round point to create a pattern of burns, or caustic substances were applied to the animal’s skin over an injury and then bandaged. Theoretically, this would generate a strong reaction that would heal the chronic underlying condition.

These are horrific treatments which when used incapacitate the horse and force the unfortunate animal to rest -- possibly the only real benefit of the exercise. To follow this theory in humans, suppose a marathon runner develops shin splints from overtraining, should you pour Drano on the guy’s leg and then wrap it in elastic bandages? I don’t think so.

Though no studies had been done to verify the efficacy of blistering and pinfiring, they were widely believed to be beneficial. About 15 years ago, though, researchers finally probed the procedures’ efficacy and found them useless. Pinfiring is now banned in Great Britain, and both procedures have fallen out of use in the United States.

Beware, though, we have heard recent stories of some veterinarians in the US continuing to use topical and injected blistering agents from time to time. One injected substance, called McKay’s solution, is a mixture of iodine and peanut oil. This is a banned substance. If your vet even suggests injecting your horse with this stuff, throw him out and find a new vet – you might also consider referring him to your local animal welfare organization.

Blistering and pinfiring are old school strategies that should have been abandoned by the close of the Medieval Era. There are plenty of mainstream alternative and complimentary therapies that will help your horse to heal more quickly and more completely. Different therapies work to varying degrees on different injuries. You’re on this website, so you’re doing the responsible thing -- taking the time to do some research on the most useful therapy for your horse’s condition.

Gladstone Equine can help find and treat your horse’s physical problems painlessly, by means of the STS-2 Equine Therapy System from Sumerel Therapeutics. A trained Gladstone Equine technician will scan your horse’s body to identify the areas with physical problems. We always scan the entire horse because many times we have found that a horse’s obvious problem may not be the only issue that needs to be dealt with, so we always scan the whole horse. It won’t cost you any more, and it will eliminate any guesswork.

After locating all the horse’s problem areas, the technician will treat the animal with the Equine Therapy Unit, a small round ‘cluster’ of pulsed LED’s (light emitting diodes --10 red and 20 infra-red) over the injury or problem area for about 20-30 seconds. The ETU powers two clusters of diodes so we can treat two areas at once. The therapist has the ability to program the unit to pulse at up to three sequential frequencies.This enables her to fine-tune the effect of the light therapy.

Central Virginia’s authorized distributor of the STS-2 Equine Therapy System from Sumerel Therapeutics. To purchase your own system or to schedule an appointment for your horse, Call or email us today – 804.337.7190