CASTING. 659 



extent, of the power of struggling violently in this position, which, 

 if he succeeds in doing, might not only be inconvenient to the 

 operator, but also tlie cause of the animal seriously hurting him- 

 self. The horse should not be fixed tightly, and no " back rope " 

 should be used to bind him; lest he may injure himself during his 

 struggles. He should be kept fasting for five or six hours previous 

 to being thrown. 



An admirable and well-known plan for keeping a horse's head 

 down after he has been cast, is to place over his neck, a sack half 



Fig. i6S. — Drawing a hind leg forward. (Borrowed fr(jm Peuch 

 and Toussaint's " Chirurgie Veterinaire.") 



filled with sand, and tied round its middle with cord. The sack, 

 by its weight, will prevent the animal from raising his head off 

 the ground ; and, by its employment, the presence of at least one 

 assistant, can be dispensed with. It is compressed at its middle, 

 so that it may conform to the shape of the neck. 



4. The easiest way of throwing a horse for operations about the 

 fore part of his l>ody, or for giving him chloroform, is one fully 

 described in " Illustrated Horse Breaking," and which can be done 

 by one man. It consists in tying up a horse's fore leg and pulling 

 his head round to the other side. Fig. 169 (p. 661) shows a horse 

 ready to be thrown in this way, with the necessary gear on him. 

 Observe that the fore leg, which is tied up, is suspended from the 



42* 



