Evening star., 1932-09-25
BY ROBERT B. PHILLIPS, JR.

"@HE horse has had its sun lamp,
and messages that would make
Il. Swedish masseur groan with
Il envy. There was even an owner
who fitted eye glasses on his
race horses. But now for the first time
the Man o Wars and steeplechasers,
the hunters and the show horses are
offered pyrotherapy in scientihc
form.
Cure by fire" has not been unknown
to veterina-ies. Formerly it was at
tempted by firing" a barbaric treat
ment for decades applied to bowed
tendons" and other muscular disorders
The practice appears to be doomed.
Old Method Supplanted.
Supplanting the medieval firing iron
will be the modern methods of dia-
thermia, If the treatment devised by
DR.. E. A. Merritt, Washington X-ray
specialist, and DR.. Robert L. Humphrey.
well known Virginia veterinary, proves
all that is hoped for it.
Firing" means a hot iron plunged
into sore horse flesh, theoretically to
cure it. Diathermia means the per-
meation of soothing heat throughout
the affected area, by electrically con-
trolled methods.
1t is impossible to say which Of the
two will be the accepted mode of treat
ing bows and lame soreness five years
hence. Firing is the general practice
new. Diathermia is virtually untried
on horses, although it has been highly
successful as a treatment for human
muscular strains and bruises. The ex-
pertinent here will give the first in
timation Of its possibilities for equine
use.
Theory Of Interest
Whether diathermia will or will not
be vital factor in future veterinary
medicine, the theory Is interesting in
contrast to the logic that lay behind
the old methods.
Because the first case history knows
here concerns a bowed tendon, and be-
cause that is one of the most destruc-
tive lamenesses horse can suffer. 1t Is
perhaps best to compare the old ana
new theories on that ailment.
The bowed tendon Is common in
jury to speed horses. In SO per cent OF
cases it results from horse striking
his front leg with the back hoof while
running. On the fiat track this acci-
dent most often occurs when horse
steps in a rough place on cuppy track
and is thrown off bal4nce, or loses its
stride, or is bumped heavily in jam.
Steeplechasers may incur the injury by
making a mistake going at the barrier,
Just as a hunter or show-ring jumper
may do.
Term Not Exact.
Although the injury is called bowed
tendon" the term is not exact. A ten
don cannot be bowed by blow any
more than could a bone. What actually
happens is that striking breaks the ten
don sheath, in which it moves piston
like oiled by synovial fluid.
When the sheath erupts its fluid Is
spilled. Immediately swollen fusion
appears on the back of the leg just
above the fetlock. The swelling bows
out, but the tendon, while 1t may be
bruised, does not pull out of position
unless it is snapped clear through.
which would neceSSitate destruction OF
the horse.
In the past and today firing is al
most invariably the treatment admins
tered in these cases. 1t is a simple
operation. slender iron rod is made
red-hot and plunged into the flash
about the tendon sheath break. Sup
posedly, this helps to heal the broken
tissue and forms an outer casing of
hard. burned tissue to strengthen the
weak point
The diathermia experimenters believe
the effect of firing is almost entirely
detrimental.
First, they say, the operation Is SO