494 THE PRACTICE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. 



A mature horse should be in the best of condition— that is, 

 in medium flesh, hard, and perfectly free from disease 

 of any kind. A horse may be taken out of harness and 

 operated upon immediately, providing he has been working 

 for some time, and is hard and healthy. In such a case 

 bad results rarely occur. Eace-horses in training are often 

 castrated, suffering very little inconvenience, rarely missing 

 a feed or showing the slightest constitutional symptoms in 

 consecjuence of the operation. An animal that has been 

 kejDt housed up in a badly-ventilated or filthy place should 

 not be operated uj^on, neither should one just recovering 

 from, or while suffering from disease, particularly such 

 diseases as are of a highly debilitating character, as in- 

 fluenza, strangles, etc. In case such an animal is operated 

 upon bad results are almost certain to follow. The opera- 

 tion should never be performed in the neighbourhood of 

 a dissecting-room, or any tainted locality, as, for instance, 

 in the immediate vicinity of heaps of manure, decomposing 

 material, etc., or serious results may be expected to follow. 

 Besides, the hands, and instrument in particular, should be 

 scrupulously clean, and it should also be borne in mind that 

 the clothing of the operator is capable of conveying infec- 

 tion, or any morbid material, the introduction of which into 

 the animal economy may cause a severe and f)ossibly 

 fatal case of blood poisoning. Before operating, the animal 

 should be made to undergo a few days' preparation. If 

 gross, he may be given a mild laxative, and fed well, 

 exercised moderately, etc. No food should be allowed for 

 several hours before operating, as the animal will not stand 

 the operation so well when the stomach and bowels are full 

 as when they are empty, for the reason that a large amount 

 of vital force is expended in the process of digestion. On 

 the same principle the animal should not be allowed to 

 exercise himself in a violent manner, or drink a large 



