Perhaps more gentle terms might be used to describe the gelding of John but this act was by no means gentle.
On a clear day after the first frost, the small band assembled at the old man's house. Why this day you may ask? It marked the end of "screw-worm" season and thus an inflicted wound could be expected to heal without the challenge of maggots infesting the open cut. At the time, screw-worms probably caused more animal deaths than any other cause. A simple wire cut or a fly bite if infected was life threatening. About the only treatment for an infected wound was either Pearson's, a red colored alcohol product used to drench the wound and kill the worms, or a black tar product called "forty" that sealed the opening, suffocating the worms and hopefully prevented reinfestation. Neither were particularly effective and required reapplication, not an easy task.
The pickup truck was unloaded of its cargo of ropes, doctoring supplies and buckets. Such an assortment of ropes would soon be explained. At the barn and the small pen that made up the working area, the old man had already prepared a small fire outside the pen and was holding John in readiness inside (Others might refer to the pen as a corral but this would not do justice to the meaning of "corral" as the pen was nothing more than a three sided wire enclosure attached to the barn.) The "bodarc" (bois de arc) post were well set in the ground and "hog-war" (hog wire) was stapled firmly in place on the inside. Inside the pen there was ample room for us to work and our "surgeon of the day" examined each of the post to be sure that they were up to the task of holding John during his cutting.
From John's point of view, I am sure, he wondered about the arrival of strangers, and why he had missed his evening feed of shelled corn. Otherwise, the day was much like any other, probably he and Maude would have to do the old man's bidding to gain their reward of corn. Maude, however, had already been turned out to pasture, so it appeared that no work was in store today. Perhaps it was Saturday or Sunday. Without the benefit of a calendar, a horse just has to get by guessing what's going on.
Now the old man put a rope halter on John. This was simply a rope with an eye (closed loop) in the end through which the bitten (free end) was passed after the rope was laid over his neck. The free end hung below his neck, and a simple twist of the rope produced what would be called by some, a half-hitch, which when placed over John's nose, produced a very effective halter to hold John securely. The half-hitch provided an additional value, it placed pressure on John's nose and mouth ensuring that he would neither hurt himself or others if he became so inclined. This really wasn't an unusual event, Mr. Stone often used the same "haltering" when he wanted to tie John to the fence to keep him from wandering away.
What followed however, was unusual. A second longer rope was placed around John's neck and like the first, the end was passed through the eye. But now things got complicated. the rope was passed back over his withers, and a half-hitch was formed just behind the front legs with the rope being held along his top line. Back to the flank the rope was passed and a second half hitch was formed this time just in front of the hind legs. A loop was formed in the rope about half way between the horse and the post. (This loop was to serve a very important role in the securing of the rope once the horse was down.) A tug on the rope showed it to be in place as it was held by Jimmy who made up the rest of our four-man crew. The old man tied the halter end of the rope to one of the pen's post and John was sort of pushed to one side to align him with another post on the opposite side of the pen. The distance between the post was critical because John was soon to be secured between them. Our "surgeon" inspected the ropes, gave John an appreciative pat on the neck and called for action.
The old man was at John's head and would restrain him as needed. The others were positioned in line for what to the uneducated, appear to be the beginnings of a tug of war. John stood perfectly still, not ever his ears were peeled back. He had what appeared to be perfect faith in his master. Once again the "surgeon" eyed the distances between the post and our own. On command, we began at first to take up slack in the rope and as it tightened first at the neck, second over the withers and finally over the flank, John began to suspicion that something was about to happen. But he stood perfectly still, only his ears moved to give a hint of his questioning our actions.
The rope was tightened even further although the force we were using was not all that great. The big horse's hind legs were paralyzed by the pressure of the rope on his loins and he simply sat down. Not very gracefully, but down he went. The tug of war continued and since I held the end of the rope my job was to secure it to the post that had been previously selected. Around the post it went, and as tension was applied, I took up the slack. The end of the rope was passed through the loop which had been previously formed. Now leverage came into play as by pulling on the rope&rsquos end, your force was doubled. It also meant that the rope could be tied in a knot easy to untie once the operation was complete.
John was partially sitting, supported by his front legs that remained under him while his hind legs were pointed straight out. A short length of rope, again with an eye in the end was passed over the hoof of a hind leg. A single half hitch was thrown (A half hitch is "thrown" by cowboys as they "pig-tie" calves in roping contest." to ensure the rope would remain in place and the rope end was passed through the loop over John's neck. When the rope was pulled tight, his right leg was pulled along side his underside. The rope was tied with a knot that allowed one to pull the end of the rope causing the knot to come loose. A second rope was likewise installed. Now John was thrust up and unable to move either hind leg. He was breathing heavily but not with apparent discomfort.
All our separate roles now were set to begin. Jimmy because he was the heaviest, was assigned the task of holding the right front leg. The surgeon simply pushed John over on his left side and the right front leg now became a lethal weapon. The leg waved in the air, not threatening but simply because it was unable to grasp a firm hold on the air. The leg was folded back along John's side and Jimmy kneeling with his knees against the horse's back, held the leg in place. As long as the leg was folded there was little force that John could summon.
The old man's role was to remain at John's head, holding it against the
ground. Although with the tying job we had done, John could move his head
very little.
No antiseptic, pain killers, pre-scrub of the patient or the
administering doctor was even considered. And if there had been such a
concern, the antiseptic, &c., were unavailable anyway.
One of the balls (nuts, testicles, oysters, or whatever colloquialism)
held firmly in place, served as a supporting surface over which the sack
(scrotum) was stretched. A single straight horizontal cut about three
inches in length was made with the blade. Through the opening, the
surgeon fingered the first testicle. It was about the size of your fist
and muscular in appearance. There was very little blood.
He called for our first surgical device. On instruction, I had made it
from two six inch pieces of elm. Each was about the diameter of a pencil
and a notch had been cut around each end. A length of cotton string
secured the two pieces together on one end. Like a pair of chopsticks,
the device was placed so that one stick was on each side of the cord of
the suspended testicle. The two sticks were drawn together by a second
piece of string. As the string was tightened, the elm pieces were drawn
together forming an effective tourniquet, not only securing the testicle
so it could not be withdrawn from display but also clamping the cord.
We were now ready for our next medical device. The reason for the fire
was now revealed. On arrival, the surgeon had placed in the glowing
coals, a soldering iron, one of those irons often used in tinning metals.
It had a heavy iron head about four inches long, about the diameter of
your thumb, fitted with a thin rod that passed into a wooden handle to
protect the user from the heat. The iron glowed a mild red.
The surgeon called for the iron. When all was in readiness, with a quick
swipe of the razor blade, he separated the testicle from its cord,
leaving about a quarter inch of the cord exposed. The nut was tossed into
a waiting bucket and taking the iron in hand, he quickly pressed it
against the raw cord end. A sizzling sound, followed by the pungent smell
of burned flesh indicated this half of the job was completed.
Handing back the iron to me for replacement into the coals, he continued.
First he examined his handiwork. Then, carefully untied the elm clamp.
Instantly, the cord was retracted into John's belly.
The second testicle was fingered from John's belly through the same
incision. The testicle was revealed, the clamp applied, cut made with
razor, end seared with iron, clamp removed and the job was almost
complete.
There appeared to be little or no pain from the operation. Through all
the activity, John struggled only once. Earlier after the ropes were in
place he attempted to rise but was prevented by the ropes and the old man
and Jimmy at their positions. After that he appeared to relax, perhaps
showing his trust in the old man.
A handful of flowers of sulfur, dusted into the wound, was used to
provide some measure of protection against infection. The cut was not
sewn shut as we had neither needle nor thread.
Then we began the process of releasing John from his ties.
At first Jimmy let go the front leg, then we cautiously untied the hind
legs allowing them to stretch outright. John tried to roll upright but
was unable to, as the old man retained a good hold on John's ears. With
all out of the way with the exception of the old man, I pulled the rope
end securing the rope to the post. As the rope slowly passed through my
fingers, tension on John's flanks was released. The rope was now almost
loose. Almost on signal, Mr. Stone allowed John's head to move to the
side, which gave the horse the momentum to roll to a sitting position and
gather his legs under him.
We stood aside. John simply sat there. Then with apparent ease, he stood.
Moved his head to the side to see what was going on and then allowed us
to remove the ropes that had bound him so firmly. The old man lead him
around the pen. His movements were easy and he showed no signs of pain or
even an awareness that he was now a gelding.
A week later we visited John who apparently enjoyed his free time away
from the routine of farm work. And, by the end of the month, he had
returned to his place with Maude, pulling the wagon as it was loaded,
saving (a term used to signify that until it's in the barn, the crop is
at risk and could be lost) that year's corn crop.
****
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