CARE OF MARE AND FOAL AFTER PARTURITION 285 



mare, the efforts must be sustained by the administration of stimulants 

 and a short rest. The necessity for this may be frequently avoided where 

 plenty of force is provided early, while the mare is fresh and full of energy. 

 Many mares are annually sacrificed from neglect of this precaution, and 

 veterinary surgeons rightly complain that delivery is frequently rendered 

 impossible, and the life of the mare jeopardized by the "pulling about" 

 she suffers, for want of sufficient well-directed force at the outset. 



CARE OF MARE AND FOAL AFTER PARTURITION 



After parturition, and if mare and foal are getting on well, warmth, 

 comfort, cleanliness, and a plentiful supply of good food are all that are 

 necessary while they are under cover. The most favourable, and therefore 

 the most natural, time for mares to foal in is during the months of March, 

 April, and May, when the weather is, or should be, propitious and grass 

 is plentiful. At this period, if the mare has been pastured before foaling, 

 she and the foal may soon be allowed out of the loose-box to the paddock 

 if the weather be fine, as nothing can be more invigorating for both than 

 a run at grass, if only for an hour or two at first, though they must on 

 no account be exposed to rain or cold winds if such exposure can possibly 

 be avoided. 



In the loose-box, good hay and a small allowance of crushed oats two 

 or three times a day should be given; and if grass is not available, and 

 especially if the mare does not furnish a sufficient supply of milk, mashes 

 of boiled barley or oats, to which coarse sugar or treacle has been added, 

 may be allowed frequently, and with great advantage. Crushed oats is 

 especially to be recommended for the mare when the foal is a few weeks 

 old, as the foal begins to nibble at and soon to eat them, and thus to 

 prepare itself in the best way for being weaned, while this addition to its 

 food will greatly tend to its robustness and development. 



The foal itself is not liable to many diseases if properly cared for. At 

 birth the attendant should give it his immediate attention if it does not 

 immediately breathe, as unless he then acts promptly it may die. When 

 it fails to inspire after the navel-string has been divided, he should at 

 once open its mouth, seize the tongue, and pull it gently forwards a few 

 times at some seconds interval, blowing hard into the mouth and nostrils 

 while the tongue is forward. Flicking the sides of the chest with a wet 

 towel at intervals may also produce the desired effect. 



VOL. III. 84 



