440 OPERATIONS. 
suppose, must aggravate the pain, thus materially endangering the result 
of an operation. The hobbles may be fixed quite as readily when the 
horse is down as when the animal is standing. Nay, they may be fixed 
more readily, as the horse, when down, has lost three-fourths of its 
power. 
Mr. Rarey’s method of throwing the most unruly animal is thus 
described by that gentleman :— 
“Fiverything that we want to teach the horse must be commenced in 
some way to give him an idea of what you want him to do, and then be 
repeated till he learns it perfectly. To make a horse lie down, bend his 
left fore leg and slip a loop over it, so that he cannot get it down. Then 
put a surcingle around his body, and fasten one end of a long strap 
around the other fore leg just above the hoof. Place the other end 
under the surcingle, so as to keep the strap in the right direction; take 
a short hold of it with your right hand; stand on the left side of the 
horse, grasp the bit in your left hand, pull steadily on the strap with 
your right; bear against his shoulder till you cause him to move. As 
soon as he lifts his weight, your pulling will raise the other foot, and he 
will have to come on his knees. Keep the strap tight in your hand, so 
that he cannot straighten his leg if he rises up. Hold him in this posi- 
tion, and turn his head toward you; bear against his side with your 
shoulder—not hard, but with a steady, equal pressure—and in about ten 
minutes he will lie down. As soon as he lies down he will be completely 
conquered, and you can handle him as you please. Take off the straps, 
and straighten out his legs; rub him lightly about the face and neck 
with your hand the way the hair lies; handle all his legs; and, after he 
has lain ten or twenty minutes, let him get up again. After resting him 
a short time, make him lie down as before. Repeat the operation three 
or four times, which will be sufficient for one lesson. Give him two les- 
sons a day; and when you have given him four lessons, he will lie down 
by taking hold of one foot. As soon as he is well broken to lie down 
in this way, tap him on the opposite leg with a stick when you take hold 
of his foot, and in a few days he will lie down from the mere motion of 
the stick.” 
What prevents the hobbles being buckled on? What prevents all 
necessary arrangements being carried out? What, indeed, but the stub- 
bornness inseparable from ignorance! Veterinary surgeons, as a rule, 
are not an educated class. In proportion as their information is limited, 
so is their adherence to established custom likely to be intractable. 
There are, besides the hobbles, two other inventions designed to limit 
the capability of resistance. One is the side line. A soft collar is put 
over the horse’s head and a hobble is fastened to the foot it is desired 
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