Freeze Firing Tendons
By Dr. Barak Amram in Equine | no comments
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Pin-firing and freeze firing are two procedures that you will not learn in veterinary school but if you are dealing with race horses or other types of performance horses, you will definitely stumble upon these procedures.
They are both commonly known in the horse industry, and have been around for ages.The pin firing is a hot iron used to effectively burn, sear, or destroy tissue. While often done with a pointed iron (hence the name - pin firing). Freeze firing is an alternative procedure that is done by applying liquid nitrogen, with an iron of some sort, and then applying it to the horse’s leg. The idea behind it is to bring an acute healing reaction to a chronic injury, and shorten the time of the natural healing process. You will find both Veterinarians and horse owners that are against or for these procedures and often you will here the words “cruelty” and “ethics”. One thing is for sure, people still do it and whomever believes in it does it on a routine bases, even when there is no injury (the thought behind it is that it will prevent injury by making the structure stronger). The picture shown is an example of freeze firing a chronic Suspensory ligament injury. PS: I will try to find a picture of pin firing too. |
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