DISEASKS OF TlIK CKNKRATIVK OltCAXS. 186 



be served airain for a month oi- loiifrer, and in no ca>e nntil after all 

 disc-haige from the vulva has ceased. 



INFECTIOUS ABORTION IN MARES. 



This disease is disiMisst'd in the i-haptei" on *' Jiifect ioiis I )i>.c;isi's."' 



PARTURITION. 



SYMPTOMS OF PARTURITION. 



A.S the period of partuiition approaches, the swellinf; of the udder 

 bespeaks the coming event, the engorgement in exceptional cases 

 extending forward on the lower sui'face of the alxloinen and even into 

 the hind limbs. Fur about a week a serous iluid oozes from the teat 

 and concretes as a yellow, Avaxlike mass around its orifice. About 

 '24 houi's before the birth this gives place to a whitish, milky li(|uid, 

 which falls upon and mats the hairs on the inner sides of the 

 legs. Another symptom is enlargement of the vulva, with redness 

 of its lining membrane, and the escape of glairy mucus. The belly 

 droops, the tlanks fall in, and the loins may even become depressed. 

 Finally the mare becomes uneasy, stops feeding, looks anxious, 

 whisks her tail, and may lie down and rise again. In many mares 

 this is not repeated, but they remain down; violent contractions of 

 the abdominal muscles ensue; after two or three pains the water 

 bags appear and burst, followed by the fore feet of the foal, with 

 the nose between the knees, and by a few more throes the fetus is 

 expelled. In other cases the act is accomplished standing. The 

 whole act may not occupy more than 5 or 10 minutes. This, together 

 with the disposition of the mare to avoid observation, renders the 

 act one that is rarely seen by the attendants* 



The navel string, which connects the foal to the membranes, is 

 ruptured when the fetus falls to the ground, or when the mare rises, 

 if she has been down, and the membranes are expelled a few minutes 

 later. 



NATURAL PRESENTATION. 



A\'hen there is a single foal, the common and desiiable presentation 

 is with the fore feet first, the nose iK'tween the knee.s, and with the 

 front of the hoofs and knees and the forehead directed upward toward 

 the anus, tail, and croup. (Plate XII, fig. 1.) In this way the 

 natural curvature of the body of the fetus corresponds to the curve 

 of the womb and genital passages, and particularly of the bony 

 pelvis, and the foal pasi^es with much greater ease than if placed 

 with its back downward toward the udder. When there is a twin 

 birth the second foal usually comes with its hind feet first, and the 

 backs of the legs, the points of the hock.s, and the tail and croup are 

 turned upward toward the anus and tail of the mare. (Plate XII, 



