HORSE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



i*3 



down, no further struggling takes place, 

 and he is secured by passing the end of 

 the rope under the hobble rings between 

 the fore and hind legs, and securing it 

 with a hitch. Something more, however, 

 is necessary to be done before any of the 

 usual operations can be performed, as all 

 of the legs are at liberty to a certain ex- 

 tent and the scrotum cannot be reached 

 in safety. The following further precau- 

 tions must therefore be taken, varying 

 according to the part to be operated on. 



For castration the horse should be 

 cast on his near side, with a web halter 

 in the usual place of a collar. The rope 

 of the halter is then passed through the 

 ring of the hobble on the off hind leg, 

 and using it as a pulley the foot is drawn 

 forcibly forward beyond the arm and 

 firmly secured to the webbing round the 

 neck, and bringing it back again it may 

 be passed round the thigh above the hock 

 (which should be guarded from friction 

 by a soft cloth or leather), amd again se- 

 cured to the webbing. By these precau- 

 tions the scrotum is completely exposed, 

 and the hind legs cannot be stirred be- 

 yond the slight spasmodic twitch which 

 extends to the whole body. 



To perform any operation on the fore 

 leg, it must be taken out of its hobble, and 

 drawn forward upon the straw by a web- 

 bing attached to its pastern, where it 

 must be held by an assistant, the horse 

 having little or no power over it in this 

 position. 



The hind leg is secured in the same 

 way as for castration, unless the fetlock 

 is to be fired, when webbing must be ap- 

 plied to the thigh above the hock only. 

 With most horses, however, firing can be 

 performed without casting, by buckling 

 up the fore leg, or by having it held by 

 a competent assistant. 



When the horse is to be released, the 

 hobbles are quietly unbuckled in succes- 

 sion, beginning with the undermost hind 

 leg. 



Several improved hobbles have been 

 invented, but they are suited rather for 

 the veterinary surgeon than for the ordi- 

 nary horsemaster, who will only require 

 them for castration and minor operations. 



The side line is sometimes used for se- 

 curing one hind leg thus : the long rope 

 and single hobble only are required, the 

 latter being buckled to the hind pastern, 



which is to be secured. The rope is then 

 passed over the withers and brought back 

 round the bosom and shoulder of the 

 same side as the leg to which it is secured, 

 and then passed inside the first part of 

 the rope. By pulling at the end of this 

 cord the hind leg is drawn up to the 

 shoulder, and secured there with a hitch, 

 but the plan is not nearly so safe as cast- 

 ing. 



The trevis or break consists of four 

 strong posts driven into the ground, at the- 

 corners of a space six feet long by three 

 feet wide. They are strongly braced to- 

 gether by wooden stays, three feet six 

 inches from the ground on three sides, the. 

 fourth being left open for the horse to en- 

 ter, after which this also is made good by 

 a padded bar passed through stout iron 

 rings fixed at three feet from the ground to 

 the uprights. By means of this frame- 

 work, to which sundry rings are bolted, 

 the body of the horse is first securely con- 

 fined by two broad bands under the belly 

 and two above the shoulders and croup. 

 Thus he can neither rear nor kick to any 

 extent sufficient to free himself, and all 

 that is necessary is to lay hold of any limb 

 selected for operation, and confine it to 

 one of the uprights, or to some other con- 

 venient point. This is the best plan to 

 be adopted for firing and other operations 

 on the legs, and if the belly-bands are 

 wide, strong, and secure, chloroform may 

 be administered in it, without the horse 

 going down. 



The twitch is a short stick of strong 

 ash, about the size of a mopstick, with a 

 hole pierced near the end, through which 

 is passed a peice of strong but small cord,, 

 and tied in a loop large enough to admit 

 the open hand freely. This is passed 

 over the upper lip close to the nostrils, 

 and then, by twisting the stick, compres- 

 sion is made to a painful extent, which 

 will keep horses quiet for any slight oper- 

 ation. Sometimes it is placed on the ear 

 in preference, but in either case the effect 

 is dependent on the pain produced. 



Barnacles consist in the application of 

 pressure by means of the handles of a 

 pair of pincers inclosing the muzzle, and 

 held firmly by an assistant. They are, 

 however, not so useful as the twitch. 



HORSE, Bleeding. — In the early part 

 of the present century bleeding was re- 



