114 Management and Feeding of Heavy Horses 



agitate the mare and make her irritable; and if no assistance is 

 really required, it is much better to leave her and just keep watch 

 from the outside. As soon as the foal is safely delivered, the navel 

 of the foal and the part surrounding the navel should be dressed 

 with an antiseptic lotion, of which there are various preparations 

 recommended. Carbolized oil has been used successfully for this 

 purpose, but a still more effective dressing is iodoform. The latter 

 is now used by the principal breeders, and is usually successful in 

 warding off the disease if applied at once to the portion of the 

 navel string attached to the foal. The germs of the disease are 

 supposed to enter the system of the foal by the navel soon after 

 birth, and frequent cases of it occur despite all precautions of 

 watching, cleaning, and disinfecting. If any symptoms of the 

 disease appear, a qualified veterinary surgeon should be called in 

 at once. The first symptoms discernible are stiffness and swell- 

 ing in one or more of its legs, probably changing from one leg to 

 another, and gradually getting worse. It is a difficult disease to 

 conquer. Probably not more than lo per cent of its victims recover, 

 and of those that survive many are left with some unfortunate dis- 

 ablement, the result of the battle with the disease. " Prevention 

 is better than cure " is an adage peculiarly applicable in cases of 

 this sort, hence the importance of disinfecting. 



When the mare foals out on the pasture, the risk of the foal 

 contracting the disease is very much less than when foaling takes 

 place in a building. In fact, cases are very rare of foals born out of 

 doors contracting navel ill. 



In all cases of difficult parturition the mare must be examined 

 by inserting the hand, dressed with carbolized oil, into the womb, 

 and carefully but thoroughly removing every vestige of the after- 

 birth. The smallest portion of the afterbirth left to decay in the 

 womb may cause blood poisoning and result in the death of the 

 mare. An injection should also be administered by syringe of a 

 very mild antiseptic in plenty of lukewarm water. Further direc- 

 tions relating to these and other matters connected with parturition 

 will be found in Chapter V. 



If the foal is all right he will soon scramble to his feet, and will 

 get to business on his own account by exploring round in search of 

 the teat. If the mare is quiet in temper and motherly in behaviour 

 she will do what she can to assist him, and to further his schemes. 

 In such cases it is the better plan to leave them alone together, and 

 if the foal has all his wits about him, they will soon be on the best 

 of terms. Too much injudicious fussing and interfering may make 

 the mare irritable and the foal shy or stupid, and tend only to 



