SPIDERSWEB

Time to post an old draft that has been sitting here for months!

When we got Trib we noticed some markings on his front legs.  I was under the impression that they were caused by some boots that he had been wearing when we first met him.  After they didn't go away we figured out they were from something else.

While we were at the horse clinic in October we were informed by another TB owner/veterinarian that they are actually scars caused by Pinfiring.

Pinfiring is used to treat an injury by burning/freezing/or using acid on the leg.  By doing this they believe that it speeds up the healing process because it causes "counter-irritation".  Hmmm... so lets injure the leg more so it heals faster.  Makes sense, right?

Apparently pinfiring is pretty common in racehorses and it's mainly used to treat bucked shins and bowed tendons.  Trib's scars are only along his cannon bone.  I'm not sure what injury he had or how to look that up but here are pictures of his scars:

Unfortunately, I'm not finding much information online about the benefits or consequences of pinfiring but I don't think it would be my first choice of treatment.

I'm not a big fan of racing or showing horses in general, mainly because I don't agree with things that are done to the horses (either to obtain a certain look or walk).  Spider was a show horse when he was younger and at some point they broke his tail (it was in the shape of a long C) so he would hold it up and to the right.  From what I've read pinfiring seems just as cruel.

If our horses could talk, imagine the stories they would tell us.