Large animals such as bovines and equines often must be confined and restrained to enable such animals to be medically examined or treated or artificially inseminated, palpated, etc. Also, when some large animals give birth they require assistance and must be restrained for that purpose.
Conventionally, large animals are confined and restrained in a squeeze chute. This is a narrow chute in which one or both sides can be moved towards the opposite side to squeeze an animal confined therein. Such chutes typically also include a head gate which closes around the neck of the animal to further restrain the animal.
Such conventional chutes require more than one person to operate them efficiently. Also, such chutes are relatively expensive and do require periodic maintenance and repair to keep them in good working order. Further, in order to release an animal from the chute, it is necessary to release the animal from the head gate, move the side panels away from each other, and open the front end of the chute enough to allow the animal to walk out the front of the chute. These steps normally require more than one person.
Thus, conventional chutes are inefficient and cumbersome for one person to work an animal. This is particularly true when working an animal from the rear.
There has not heretofore been provided an animal confinement chute of the type described herein which is effective and which is operable by one person.