44 CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHID HORSES. 



animal with a long protruding penis is apt to be objected to 

 for road work, although it can be worked in the fields, where it 

 will be comparatively free from observation. . If the objection is 

 very marked, and no improvement ensues after a prolonged 

 period of regular treatment, the only remaining resource is to 

 amputate the offending portion. 



Influence of Age and Time of Year.— As a rule one is not 

 asked to operate before the colt is two years old, because up 

 to that age there is always the chance that the testes, if low 

 down in the canal, may descend into the scrotum. 



In operating upon a yearling, especially if the animal is not 

 very well developed or is out of condition, there is always more 

 risk of subsequent descent of the bowel if the abdonjen has to 

 be entered. The tissues are not so strong as in animals of more 

 mature age. The actual season of the year does not make the 

 slightest difference to the success or otherwise of the operation 

 provided the patient can be placed under good hygienic con- 

 ditions afterwards. Reference to the cases in the Appendix 

 (page 46) will show that the cases recorded there were operated 

 upon at all times of the year. 



Concluding Remarks. — In many cryptorchid cases the history 

 obtainable is very scanty and uncertain, so that now and again 

 the " rig " operator will find that his patient has already been 

 castrated, and that the real cause of the trouble is an enlarged 

 epididymis. In the words of the farmer, he has been "cut 

 proud." The removal of this will cure the sexual propensity, 

 but of course such a case could hardly be termed a true " rig." 

 One must not forget, too, that the swelling noticed by the 

 owner may be a scirrhous cord. Unless the animal has shown 

 decidedly troublesome or vicious propensities, or the owner is 

 absolutely sure that castration has never been done, the operator 

 should be cautious in regard to his method of procedure. The 

 mere presence of a scar on the scrotum might mean that an 

 unsuccessful attempt at castration had been made, or it might 

 mean that the wound had been inflicted with fraudulent in- 

 tention, the object being to deceive the intending purchaser. 



