DISEASES OF HORSES 329 



mouth of the womb soft and dilatable and the interior of the organ 

 slightly filled with a bloody liquid. 



Treatment. This should be prevented if possible, and would 

 embrace the avoidance of all causes mentioned, and particularly of 

 such as may seem to be particularly operative in the particular case. 

 Where abortions have already occurred in a stud, the especial cause 

 in the matter of food, water, exposure to injuries, overwork, lack of 

 exercise, etc., may often be identified and removed. A most impor- 

 tant point is to avoid all causes of constipation, diarrhea, indiges- 

 tion, bloating, violent purgatives, diuretics or other potent medi- 

 cines, painful operations, and slippery roads, unless well frosted. 



When abortion is imminent, the mare should be placed alone 

 in a roomy, dark, quiet stall, and have the straining checked by 

 some sedative. Laudanum is usually at hand and may be given in 

 doses of 1 or 2 ounces, according to size, and repeated after two or 

 three hours, and even daily if necessary. Chloroform or chloral 

 hydrate, 3 drams, may be substituted if more convenient. These 

 should be given in a pint or quart of water, to avoid burning the 

 mouth and throat. 



When all measures fail and miscarriage proceeds, all that can 

 be done is to assist in the removal of the fetus and its membranes, 

 as in ordinary parturition. As in the case of retention of the fetus, it 

 may be necessary after delivery to employ antiseptic injections into 

 the womb to counteract putrid fermentation. This, however, is less 

 requisite in the mare than in the cow, in which the prevalent con- 

 tagious abortion must be counteracted by the persistent local use of 

 antiseptics. After abortion a careful hygiene is demanded, espe- 

 cially in the matter of pure air and easily digestible food. The 

 mare should not be served again for a month or longer, and in no 

 case until after all discharge from the vulva has ceased. 



SYMPTOMS OF PARTURITION. 



As the period of parturition approaches, the swelling of the 

 udder bespeaks the coming event, the engorgement in exceptional 

 cases extending forward on the lower surface of the abdomen and 

 even into the hind limbs. For about a week a serous fluid oozes 

 from the teat and concretes as a yellow, waxlike mass around its 

 orifice. About twenty-four hours before the birth this gives place 

 to a whitish, milky liquid, 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 flanks 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 the mare re- 

 mains 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 

 five or ten minutes. This, together with the disposition of the mare 



