180 HEALTH AND DISEASE 



the labife; an instrument, therefore, from 10 to 15 inches in length is found 

 adequate for the purpose. 



A fold of membrane slightly overlaps the opening, and when this is felt 

 by the finger, the end of the catheter is directed to it and gently pressed 

 forward and downward into the bladder. 



Precautions for the safety of the operator are even more necessary in 

 the case of mares than when attempting to withdraw urine from male 

 horses (see Methods of Restraint). 



The disorders calling for the use of the catheter in mares are, for the 

 most part, the same as those for which it is employed in the male sex, but 

 in addition there are troubles connected with the bringing forth of young 

 which temporarily interfere with the passage of urine. Among these 

 may be mentioned metritis, inflammation of the vagina after difficult and 

 protracted labour, retention of the placental membranes, and maladies 

 contracted in coitu. 



OVARIOTOMY IN TROUBLESOME MARES 



The ovaries are not unfrequently the seat of structural or functional 

 diseases which, although not seriously affecting the general health of the 

 mare, may, and sometimes do, render her vicious and useless. When these 

 morbid states exist, the temperament and habits of the animal undergo 

 a marked change, and what was before a quiet unaggressive mare now 

 becomes a restless, unseemly, and dangerous creature. 



During the period of sestrum, or what is commonly spoken of as 

 *' horsing ", there is at all times a certain degree of exceptional irritability, 

 and this is evident in some mares more than in others. But in the cases 

 referred to above, it sometimes becomes so pronounced as to require the 

 greatest care in their handling and general management. As the sestral 

 period expires the danger may pass away, but in some mares it continues 

 throughout the summer, while in others sestrum becomes a chronic con- 

 dition. These animals are more or less constantly "horsing", and receive 

 service after service without any result. The morbid sensibility they 

 display renders them dangerous not only to drive, but likewise to attend 

 upon in the stable. 



When they are touched or even approached they squeal, straddle, let 

 themselves down behind and throw out a quantity of urine, and the labia 

 are spasmodically opened and closed for a number of times. Sometimes 

 they will strike out with their fore-limbs, and the danger of such an animal 

 is her tendency to kick and injure those about her. Mares so affected are 

 difficult to put in and take out of harness, and they frequently lean towards 



