CHAPTER II. 



MEANS OF CONTROL. 



Operation, or even local examination, is often impossible without 

 recourse to methods of restraint, of which an exceedingly 

 numerous choice is available, depending on the species of 

 animal and the operation to be performed. To begin with, the 

 horse should be securely bridled or haltered and held by a reliable 

 man, who will give his whole attention to the animal, and at once 

 check any indication of vice by calling to the animal, or similar means. 



Vicious horses may often 

 be quieted by the application of 

 blinds. Before casting, a special 

 well -fitting winker bridle, the 

 lower part of which can easily 

 be removed, should be applied. 

 The winkers should be padded 

 and provided with straps, by 

 which they can be brought 

 together. By preventing it see- 

 ing, blinds often render the 

 animal remarkably tractable, 

 while they also protect the 

 eyes when the animal falls, 

 and whilst it remains on the 

 ground. Some persons use a 

 sort of leather cap or hood, which is drawn over the animal's head. 

 Some arrangement of the kind is indispensable when horses have to 

 be cast. A substitute may be extemporised from a thick piece of cloth 

 doubled several times, passed over the eyes, and fastened to the back of 

 the bridle. 



Horses which bite may be muzzled. 



To divert the animal's attention from the local pain, twitches are often 



Fig. I. — " The blinds. 



