RE: [RC] question for the vets: pinfiring/freezefiring - Von Simson, Cristiano
Aarene,
The opinions on pin
firing with hot or cold devices vary a lot.
The fact is that I
haven’t seen a controled study that shows any advantage of this method
over treating a horse with less invasive therapies and resting the horse for
the same period.
My experience in the
racing industry is that it used to be very hard to get the trainer and owner to
agree with the rest period without some “pirotechnical” show. (Fortunatelly,
that is changing)
That being said, the
vast majority of equine veterinarians won’t be particularly concerned
with old pinfiring scars. I would be much more attentive to enlarged masses of
scar tissue at the deeper levels, that could cause adherences. The scars on the
skin are immaterial.
I guess that the big
question to us vets is: “Is the horse lame?” If not, ride on!
Susan & Heidi, what
are your opinions on this one?
Thanks for bringing up
a relevant subject to ridecamp, to replace the “confused” e-mails.
Best Regards,
Cristiano von Simson, DVM
----- Original Message ----
From: "aarenex@xxxxxxxxxxx"
<aarenex@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:10:03 PM
Subject: [RC] question for the vets:
pinfiring/freezefiring
Gentle readers,
I recently looked at a batch of OT standardbreds, many
of whom had "cryo marks" on their legs. I'm told that freeze firing
is standard practice when a horse has a tendon injury, and that the tendons
thus treated will heal up cool and tight.
My questions FOR THE VETS--the rest of you may state
your opinions and I will read them, but I don't promise to believe you
<G>:
1. What does the "freeze-firing" procedure
actually entail?
2. Is there evidence to support or disprove the
claims that freeze firing actually speeds and improves the healing process? I
found anecdotal evidence to support this, but no real research. I found the
same ratio of anecdote-to-research when I was searching for information about
pinfiring. Is it superstition, or does it actually promote healing?
3. What is the soundness prognosis for a
tendon-injured horse which has returned to soundness (either with or without
freefiring)? Is the formerly-injured tendon significantly more prone to
re-injury?
4. If a horse with "cryo marks" shows up in
your vet line, are you (intentionally or not) more likely to pull that horse
for lameness?
Just for the record, I'm not shopping for another
horse. But 'satiable curtiosity is a weakness of librarians, doncha know
<G>.
And if discussing my question will distract people
from being nasty to Susan Favro, all the better.
--Aarene
--
Distance tests the endurance of a horse; time reveals
the character of a person. --Chinese proverb
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