434 THE HORSE. 



be attempted on any hard surface, a thick bed of six aw being ne- 

 cessary to prevent injury from the heavy foil which takes place. 

 The hind legs should be brought as far forward as possible before 

 beginning to pull the rope, and when the men do this they should 

 do it "with a will,'' but without jerking, so as to take the horse 

 off his guard, when he will resist much less stoutly than if he is 

 allowed more time. As soon as the legs are drawn up together, 

 the man at the quarters is quite safe from injury, and he may lean 

 forcibly against that part, and force the horse over to the off side, 

 upon which he falls : the assistant at the head keeping that part 

 down, no further struggling takes place, and he is secured by pass- 

 ing 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 

 extent and the scrotum cannot be reached in safety. The fol- 

 lowing further precautions must therefore be taken, varying ac- 

 cording 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), and again secured to the webbing. By these precautions 

 the scrotum is completely exposed, and the hind legs cannot be 

 stirred beyond 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 

 webbing attached to its pastern, where it must be held by an assist- 

 ant, 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 applied to 

 the thigh above thd 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 un- 

 buckled in succession, beginning with the undermost hind leg. 



Several improved hobbles have been invented, but they are 

 suited rather for the veterinary surgeon than for the ordinary 

 horsemaster, who will only require them for castration and minor 

 operations. 



The side line is sometimes used for securing one hind leg 

 thus : — the long rope and single hobble only are required, the lat- 



