242 



VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



adult and in the two or the three-year-old, which on ac- 

 count of having been handled, groomed, etc., will not object 

 to manipulation of the scrotum. A colt or adult that will 

 tolerate scrotal manipulations is generally a safe subject 

 for standing castration, but the ticklish animal, whether colt 

 or adult, is seldom ever a good subject for this method of 

 restraint. Mules, bronchos, vicious horses, unbroken colts 

 and horses, yearlings and ponies should be cast; the stand- 

 ing restraint is reserved more for the full-grown, well-broken 

 and fairly tractable horse. 



Standing Position. — Standing castrations are performed 

 with no other restraint than the twitch, but a single side-line 

 to lift a hind leg should be available in case the horse unex- 

 pectedly becomes unmanageable before the operation is 



Fig. 126 — Restraint and Position of Operator in Standing Castration. 



completed, or in case some unusual abnormality (hernia, 

 adhesions, etc.) is encountered. The twitch is always pre- 

 viously inspected as to the strength and security of its cord; 

 a good grip is taken on the nose ; and the holding is en- 

 trusted only to a fearless, unflinching attendant who is in- 

 structed to push the head upward as the operation begins. 

 The operating place should be an open space, preferably a 

 grass plot where a- sudden fall would be harmless to the pa- 

 tient, and to the operator. In a box stall, a small room, or 

 corner of a paddock or corral the castrator is always exposed 

 to the danger of being caught by a plunging or falling pa- 

 tient, and while such manoeuvers are exceptional they are 

 too consequential when they do occur to be so flagrantly 

 ignored as to attempt the operation in a confined space. 



