22 CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHID HORSES. 



of the operator) be twisted once on itself before it is passed 

 through the collar (see Fig. 2). 



One man attends to the twitch and head, his instructions 

 being to sit on the neck as soon as the colt falls on his side. A 

 sack loosely filled with oats is a very useful adjunct to keep the 

 animal quiet if placed over the neck. Two or three men, de- 

 pending upon the size of the patient, are placed on the rope at 

 either side, being outside it and not between the colt's body and 

 the rope on account of risk to themselves during the fall ; they 

 may be all instructed to walk backwards or, if the colt is to fall on 

 his off side, those on the right rope stand still or walk slightly 

 forwards whilst those on the left walk and pull backwards, 

 running behind the animal's quarters when it falls. Whilst the 

 under rope is kept tight the upper hind leg is pulled as close to 

 the body as possible ; the operator, or his assistant, passes a 

 loop of the top rope over the hind heel, pulls it tight again, and 

 fixes it with a couple of half hitches. The upper fore leg is 

 then secured alongside the hind one, either inside or outside, 

 with half hitches, and a final half hitch over the hind heel com- 

 pletes the tying of that side. This rope is given to a man to 

 hold. The colt is turned over and the other side tied up in the 

 same way. 



Place the colt on his back and a bundle of straw (or a sack 

 filled with straw) on either side, and the patient is now 

 ready for operation. 



If preferred the fore legs iji^y be tied separately by passing 

 a slip noose of rope, the leg being bent on itself, round each one 

 (see Fig. 3). 



Some practitioners prefer the knot of the collar to be on the 

 withers, the ends of rope then being passed straight away along 

 the flanks and through the hind legs as above directed. If the 

 first-named, methqd is chosen, a rope or surcingle should always 

 be put round the chest behind the elbows and the collar of 

 the rope firmly tied to it (see Figs, i and 2), or the animal will 

 sometimes withdraw its head, and so necessitate the trouble of 

 untying arid reciasting. 



