CHAPTER IX. 



OPERATIONS. 



Adimnistratioii of Aiicestheiics. Firiiig. .Bleedifig. 



ADMINISTRATION OF ANESTHETICS. 



Before performing a serious operation, it is generally customary to put the 

 horse under the influence of an anaesthetic. Chloroform is the agent we 

 almost exclusively employ for this purpose. Contrary to a notion somewhat 

 widely spread, we may state emphatically that when administered carefully, 

 there is not the slightest risk attending its use in healthy horses. The late 

 ]Mr. D. Gresswell employed this agent for producing anaesthesia for many 

 years in almost all serious operations on the horse in his extensive practice, 

 and never saw any ill effect attending or following its administration. We 

 have likewise used it very extensively, and have never known of any untoward 

 results caused by its inhalation. During the administration, however, it is 

 necessary to feel the pulse at intervals ; for chloroform has a tendency to 

 reduce the tension in the blood vessels, while ether has no appreciable effect 

 of this kind. Three to five ounces of chloroform are generally effectual in 

 causing insensibihty. It is our practice to pour two ounces of chloroform 

 into Gresswell's chloroform cap, an apparatus of which we append an 

 illustration, and then to adjust it over the mouth of the animal. 



We add amounts of about half an ounce at intervals, as may be necessary-. 

 If a horse struggles much, he generally requires a larger amount than if he 

 breathes slowly and quietly. In some cases, we have found it necessary to 

 give as much as six ounces before anaesthesia was complete. The idea of the 

 danger of giving chloroform to the hor^e has doubtless arisen from the 

 results of the wrong modes in which it is sometimes administered. 

 Practically, the method we recommend will prove thoroughly reliable. An 

 idea of the degree of insensibility produced by the chloroform mhaled may 

 be gained by observing whether the eye is sensitive to the touch, or does not 

 respond to the irritation caused when^anything is brought into contact with 

 it. When the operation is over, and the shackles with which the animal has 

 been cast are loosened, it is well to give a good bran mash ; but it is not 

 advisable to dash water over him, or otherwise unnecessarily annoy and 

 irritate him with no possible object. Should suffocation threaten, and the 

 pulse show any sign of failing, the cap should be at once removed, and cold 

 water dashed over the head. 



