BLEEDING. 361 



ground, the other foot should be held up by an assistant ; or, if 

 his aid is required in an operation, the knee may be fully bent, 

 and the pastern tied up to the arm. When the hind-leg is to be 

 examined in the same way, the fore-leg on that side should be held 

 or fastened up.^ 



BLEEDING. 



The operation of bleeding has been alroady describ ;d (p. 166), 

 but we would remind our readers of the necessity, in e\ ery case of 

 acute inflammation, of making a large orifice, and abstracting the 

 blood as rapidly as possible, for the constitution will thus be the 

 more speedily and beneficially affected. 



The change which takes place in the blood after it is drawn 

 from the vein, is diligently noticed by many practitioners, and is 

 certainly deserving of some attention. The blood coagulates soon 

 after it is taken from the vein. The coagulable part is composed 

 of two substances : that which gives color to the blood, and that 

 in which the red particles float. These, by degrees, separate from 



* Note hy Mr. Spooner. — For the operations of nerving, firing, and many 

 others, where it is necessary to be exact, we prefer casting the horse, as we 

 have him then completely in our own power ; whereas, by the other re- 

 straints, the operator is, in a great measure, at the mercy of the animal, whi^ 

 can effectually resist if he pleases. Besides which, in a case of lameness, 

 there is great danger of injury arising from the plunging of the animal. If a 

 soft bed is made, with dung at the bottom and straw at the top, there is but 

 little risk in casting. During the last nineteen years, in many hundreds of 

 operations, we have only met with two cases of injury from casting, and these 

 were in very old horses, whose spines proved to be anchylosed or set, and 

 were thus much more liable to fracture. Where the object is to perform an 

 otherwise painful operation without the infliction of pain, the use of sulphuric 

 ether or of chloroform may be had recourse to. It is unnecessary to trace 

 the history of these substances, so much having been of late written on the 

 subject. The writer has used both with success, but the chloroform is pref 

 erable from its greater strength. The horse, however, requires a large quan- 

 tity before the powers of sensation are temporarily destroyed, viz., from two 

 to four ounces. It may be applied by a simple sponge, but better by means 

 of apparatus, by which expiration is permitted, and at tlie same time suffi 

 cient air admitted to prevent dangerous effects following. The chloroform 

 may be administered while the horse is in a standing position, and in some 

 cases he will quietly fall or lie down ; but as, in other instances, he will re- 

 sist with determination, and stand even after sensation Is gone, it is the bet- 

 ter plan, in order to save the chloroform, and shorten the time during which 

 the horse is under its influence, to cast the animal first, when the chloroform 

 can be immediately applied, and the operation commenced as soon as sensa- 

 tion is removed. Or the chloroform can be applied when the horse is in a 

 standing position, and the hobbles affixed at the same time, when, by means 

 of the latter, the animal can be quietly thrown as soon as the former beguis 

 o act. This method will effect a saving of time. The use of chloroform is 

 more suitable for short operations, such as nerving or castration, and the r» 

 oioval of tumors, than for those occupying considerable time. 



P 



