# What do you know about racing injuries and pin firing?



## IndiesaurusRex (Feb 23, 2011)

One thing you need to keep in mind is that horses are prey animals - if they are injured, they will do their best to hide it, to avoid being a target for predators. I've also known many horses with plenty of "get up and go" whilst lame - I was hand walking one horse that was trying to jog on three legs (abscess in the hoof)!

If I was you, I would trust your vet. By all means, get a second opinion, but you may just get the same answer as what you did from the original vet.

Pin firing is just an old fashioned method of treating lameness by creating an irritation in the leg by burning/freezing/using chemicals, with the intention of speeding up healing. I'm pretty sure it's illegal here in the UK now, due to the painful nature of the method, and the fact most vets now think it's a load of baloney


----------



## TrailxxRider (Feb 13, 2012)

The pin firing was done 10 years ago, so I would assume its not done these days. I was also told that race horses are bred to work, and most of the time they wont tell you they're hurting, they'll just go till they drop. It makes it so hard to read how he's feeling and I haven't had him that long.


----------



## spirit88 (Jan 12, 2011)

So sorry to hear that but in all honesty doesnt sound to good.Doesnt hurt to get second opinion but my guess it wont be good. Even prepurchase exams are not a sure thing either but at least you know what problems a present. And can make a informed decision on if you want to buy or not.Iv been lucky that way iv bought all three of my horse with out a pre purchase exam they were all yearlings though.All three were sound and healthy.


----------



## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Pin firing is a very outdated practice that used to be used more commonly to treat all manner of tendon and ligament injuries, particularly in racehorses. It really has very little therepeautic value (if any) and is a fairly barbaric practice.

It consists of injecting acidic or otherwise caustic agents into the tissue with the idea being that an acute inflammatory response will be initiated, thereby helping to 'heal' the injury by recruiting blood cells/leukocytes to the site of injury. It's a load of horse poop in my books but the sad fact is that many horses were subjected to this type of treatment (including my own mare). The 'recovery' that some horses made as a result of being pin fired was most likely due to the several months holiday they had to recover from the pin firing itself. I.e. they would have recovered just as well being spelled and _not_ pin fired.

There *shouldn't* be ongoing inflammation as a result of pin firing, and if there is (as in your case), it may be difficult to decipher if the inflammation is a result of the pin firing, or the original injury. Only a vet will be able to tell you that.

I can tell you that my mare hasn't taken a bad step and has remained sound under a light to medium workload. I probably wouldn't choose to stress her greatly with a heavy workload or a lot of jumping. Many people won't touch a horse that has been pin fired, and with good reason as there is the potential for long term side effects. Not in every case but it is certainly a risk that you run in such a horse.

In regards to this:


TrailxxRider said:


> He tosses his head and bucks around when you go to feed him in the morning too. I've never heard of a lame horse doing that :-|


I have seen this all too often. I have seen horses that have severed tendons, ligaments and had horrific laceration type injuries behave in this exact manner. Don't be fooled by displays of high energy and moments where no lameness is evident, sadly a horse can, and will, ignore the pain response if they get excited or fearful.


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

My gelding tore his suspensory in the paddock, and even though he could not weight bare on that leg and was confined to a stable 24/7, he was canter pirouetting in his stable on 3 legs, and trying to trot around the stable. He would toss his head and neigh when he saw me coming each day. Seemed totally happy in himself. He ended up doing more damage to himself despite being in a cast, and tore a tendon in the same leg, hence being put to sleep. 

So yes, they can certainly still run around and be stupid even if they are on 3 legs!

I would be very cautious about working your horse. My boy was a thoroughbred that had 32 starts under his belt. Before his did his suspensory, he also had a hock injury which was a result of his long stint on the track. He was never truely 'lame' on it, just a bit off, and would get quite grumpy under saddle and when being tacked up. People said he was just being a typical ottb, but I got him xrayed and sure enough, gut instincts were right - arthritic hock in the process of fusing, with a bone spur attached. 
If someone had him, that didn't pick up on a subtle change of personality in him and in his attitude to work, I'm sure he would have been pushed through, probably beaten up a bit for being resistant etc. He never bucked or did anything 'naughty', he was just a bit grumpy and behind the leg.


----------



## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

Pin firing is cautery - either cryo or thermal - nothing caustic is injected. Although pin firing is not as prevalent as it once was, it is still used today. The pattern and location of the points (small round white dots) on your horse's legs will tell you why he was fired. ie. bucked shins, splints, bowed tendon, curb etc.


----------



## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Horse Poor said:


> Pin firing is cautery - either cryo or thermal - nothing caustic is injected.


In most cases, that is correct and my first post didn't reflect that fact, apologies. However sulphuric acid is also used, which is rather caustic by my calculations. Sad but true. Produces lesions of similar appearance to cryo or thermal treatments.

Taken from the British Association of Holistic and Natural Medicine:

"Firing:
Hot iron firing was the application of smoldering metal firing irons to the site of an injury to the limbs (as opposed to their use in cauterizing tissue). The theory was that the treatment produced ‘beneficial swelling and counter-irritation’ to the affected part. The other benefit was thought to be that the scar tissue so formed would be stronger than the original, and would act like a permanent bandage. This was of particular relevance to tendon injuries. The practice is no longer recommended by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Acid firing was based on the same principles as hot iron firing, and used for similar problems. This method, practiced for centuries by the Arabs, involved the application of strong sulphuric acid to the skin. It enjoyed a revival in the 1950s. Acid firing was generally thought to be preferable to hot-iron firing, as most practitioners felt it caused little pain and could therefore be used without anesthetic."


----------



## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

To the best of my knowledge…acid firing is the same as blistering - whatever "caustic agent" is not "injected" but is applied topically to the skin…pin firing actually goes through the skin to the tendon, etc. bar firing and acid firing are only skin deep - pin firing goes deeper than that.


----------



## boldstart (Oct 11, 2009)

TrailxxRider said:


> The pin firing was done 10 years ago, so I would assume its not done these days. I was also told that race horses are bred to work, and most of the time they wont tell you they're hurting, they'll just go till they drop. It makes it so hard to read how he's feeling and I haven't had him that long.


 
That it about racehorses wont tell they are hurting is very untrue!
Everytime I get on a horse I judt dont flat out gallop it - we survey how they are (happy, grumpy and / or sour) and feel how there action is and report all back to a trainer.

Yes a horse can be sore but when things change (eg when I rode a really footsore filly the other day, the other filly dumped the rider and went for a gallop) how they can forget how sore they are. My footsore filly starting rearing, bucking and even tried bolting off. 

Most horses at the track have issues and most trainers will work around these issues.


----------



## Amblin Cowgirl (Apr 27, 2010)

I had a STB mare that was pin fired too! I never did find out her history, and she made out well the whole time I had her. That being said, she was never ridden hard, or for long periods of time! I would trust your vet on this one! If it makes you feel better have a second opinion! 
As for the fact that the horse is still full of itself .. I had a half Arab mare, and her first week at our house there were some power struggles .. and she ended up with a broken splint bone, in more then one place. And that mare never walked a lame step! She was out there rearing, and bucking and running around like crazy thing she was!


----------



## DraftXDressage (Aug 29, 2011)

Pinfiring still occurs in thoroughbred racing, even with prominent trainers and horses. Here are a couple photos of El Padrino, a potential Derby starter:


----------

