These days the scope of anaesthesia is consistently increasing due to increase in surgical patients in veterinary practice. This change in trend is due to the awareness of the owners to different surgical problems and their solutions. They do not hesitate to get their animals treated with modern equipments and highly expensive medicine. To meet this challenge and demand of the owners, veterinary surgeons are taking keen interest to get the advanced knowledge and latest information of modern equipments and their usage in veterinary practice.

In the past surgery was performed by making temporary insensibility by asphyxiation, cerebral concussion by striking wooden bowl placed over the head with a hammer and a regional anaesthesia was attained by compression of nerves and blood vessels of the region to he operated upon. But these days different sedative and anaesthetic agents are being used to make the animal desensitize from all external stimuli. These drugs are available in volatile, nonvolatile and gaseous forms. The usage of anaesthetic agent entirely depends upon the species, age, weight, temperament of the patient, nature of the operation to he performed, cost and availability of the drug.

In this project three different combinations were tried in thirty animals of equine species to find out the best selection for major surgical interventions. The animals were divided into three groups often animal each. These groups were designated as Group A, B and C. Group A was anaesthetized with XylazineiPentothal sodium, Group B with Acepromazine/Pentothal sodium and Group C with Diazepam/Pentothal sodium. The efficacy of these combinations was measured on the basis of nature of induction, recumbency period, nature of recovery, different body reflexes, recording temperature, pulse, respiration, and statistical analysis of results.

The analysis of the results collected during this study clearly indicated that a combination of cliazepam with pentothal sodium was a better selection for anaesthetizing equine patients. This study aslo proved that combination comprising of xylazine and pentothal sodium could he used for minor surgical interventions as it produced light surgical anaesthesia.

It was concluded that a combination consisting of diazepam and pentothal sodium should be used for all types of major surgical procedures in equine practice.