CASTING-. 641 



be tried. After two days, the part may be bathed with warm 

 water, and some sweet oil smeared over it. 



Mares " in season," horses inclined to dropsy, and those which 

 are in a debilitated state, or are shedding their coats, should not 

 be blistered ; for in such cases the part is apt to swell enormously, 

 and its skin to slough. These untoward symptoms are liable to 

 ensue after blistering in hot climates during the rainy season. In 

 such cases, a mild dose of physic — a, pint of linseed oil for choice — ■ 

 may be given ; or if the animal is weak, and is consequently in an 

 unfit condition to stand purging, half an ounce of nitre may be 

 mixed in his drinking water for a few days. A liniment of equal 

 parts of Goulard's extract and sweet oil can be applied to the part. 



Mr. Harold Leeney, M.R.C.V.S., tells me that an " unnerved " 

 (p. 669) leg should on no account be blistered; for a blister in such 

 cases, often gives rise to gelatinoid degeneration (shown by swelling 

 and softening) of the tendons and ligaments of the part, from an 

 inch or so above the blister downwards. 



Casting a Horse. 



The usual methods for casting a horse are : by ropes ; and by 

 hobbles. The former is the better of the two for castration, re- 

 moval of scirrhous cord, and operations for hernia; as the hind 

 legs can be kept wider apart by it than by the latter, which is 

 more convenient for all other operations. A piece of soft old 

 grass land is, in every respect, the most suitable place on which to 

 cast a horse. A ploughed field, sandpit, or, failing these, a bed 

 of straw will also do. With ropes used in the ordinary manner, 

 straw should not be generally employed, as it is impossible to tell 

 within a few feet where the horse will fall ; but with well-managed 

 hobbles, or according to Mr. Over's plan, he can be made to drop on 

 the very spot on which he had previously stood. As a rule, a 

 twitch should be put on before the horse is cast. As horses are 

 liable to fracture their backs in this operation, we should be very 

 careful about casting animals which appear stiff in their backs; 

 especially old ones. 



The following are useful ways for casting horses. 



1. By ordinary side lines. The casting rope is thick, soft, about 

 20 yards long, and provided with two metal eyes, at equal distances 

 from its centre, and about 30 inches apart from one another, so as 

 to form pulleys for the rope. The usual method is to knot the rope, 

 so as to make, at its centre, a loop which will fit, when passed 

 over the animal's head, like a collar round the base of the neck. 

 The knot is placed uppermost, in line with the withers ; and each 

 end of the rope is passed backwards between the hind legs, brought 

 K 41 



