METHODS OF SECURING. 7 1 



surface of the tail, the perinseum, vulva and surrounding parts 

 should be well washed with soap and hot water, containing 

 disinfectant, on the morning of operation. This is, of course, 

 again washed thoroughly immediately before operating. 



Methods of Securing.— No special method of securing is 

 necessary if the patient is operated upon in the recumbent 

 posture. It is better to cast with hobbles than with a rope, as 

 the position of the legs in the former case causes less pressure 

 upon the abdomen, and consequently more room and facility 

 for the movements of the operator. The side; upori which the 

 patient is thrown depends entirely upon the operator's fancy ; 

 usually the right side is the one which is chosen, but sometimes 

 it is an advantage to remove the left ovary when the animal is 

 on the right side, and then turn her over to reach the right one. 

 When operated upon in the standing position the mare should 

 be placed deeply under the influence of chloral or morphia and 

 then safely secured with hobbles or side lines, or else in a trevis 

 fixed safely with a sling to prevent the patient from lying 

 down. Of the two it is easier to operate in the standing 

 position, but in the prone position one has the advantage of 

 chloroform. 



In Texas and the Western States of America,^ where large 

 numbers of horses are reared and run wild, geldings are found 

 to be much more reliable and valuable than mares from a sale 

 point of view, especially on those ranches from which army 

 supplies are drawn. In the United States army no mares are 

 purchased when geldings can be obtained, and even for cow- 

 punching and ordinary ranch work geldings are preferable, 

 owing to the care which has of necessity to be exercised when 

 riding mares during the months of pregnancy. 



With spayed mares this trouble is done away with, and in 

 times of urgency, due to war or other causes, these animals 

 become a marketable comhiodity. As a i-ule the proprietor 

 of a large ranch will have a certain number' done for the cow- 



For this description I am indebted to Dr F. Thacher, one of the veterinarians of the 

 -State of Texas, TJ. S.A. 



