18 ANIMAL CASTE AT [ON 



conditions. Proper )'cstraint constitutes a very essen- 

 tial part of the operation J'or successful castration, and 

 this means applies not only to the preparation of large 

 animals but to the smaller ones as well. 



Veterinary surgeons are not agreed as to the best 

 method of procedure in the handling of larger animals 

 in many instances, but while their opinions may differ 

 in this, the result sought is the same, so that while 

 one man may confine an animal in some specific way 

 that departs radically from the manner ordinarily 

 employed, he may, nevertheless, lie a very practical 

 and successful operator. In the handling of horse and 

 mule colts for castration there ai'e probably many 

 more practitioners who cast the animals in some se- 

 cure manner than there are who perform the opera- 

 tion with the subject in standing position. Each of 

 the two methods has its advantages and its disadvan- 

 tages, which may be summarized as follows: 



The standing operation is practicable in colts that 

 have attained sufficient size to allow for the work 

 with a certain degree of convenience to the operator, 

 but it is not practical and is difficult to perform in 

 undersized subjects — particularly so in mules, where 

 the testicle is not well developed and the cremaster 

 muscle active in contraction. The standing operation 

 requires less time and exertion for one skilled in its 

 performance, but it is sometimes prolonged because of 

 the inability of the operator and his assistant to prop- 

 erly control the animal, and it occasionally becomes 

 impossible to cope successfully with certain abnormal 

 conditions encountered, thereby necessitating interrup- 

 tion of the work for the purpose oF casting and tying 

 the subject so that the task may be completed. For- 

 tunately for both operators and animals, such condi- 

 tions are rarely encountered. 



