OOPHORECTOMY IN MARES. 



259 



Hering castrated six two-year-old sheep from the flank for the 

 purpose of discovering whether the yield of wool would prove greater 

 after operation. In two only the left ovary could be reached. The 

 operation was well borne, though it failed in its object. 

 The animals fattened earlier than their fellows. 



3. Mares are only castrated for nymphomania, a 

 disease which appears to be more frequent in coarse 

 than in well-bred animals. Cadiot has frequently per- 

 formed this operation during the past few years, and 

 on the whole has had good results, although in some 

 cases the object, viz. to render animals quieter and 

 more tractable, has not been attained, a point to which 

 Harms and Thomassen had previously directed atten- 

 tion. In mares, however, castration is always more 

 difficult and more hazardous than in cows. 



The principal danger consists in the well-known 

 sensitiveness of the horse's peritoneum. The difficulties 

 consist partly in the fact that irritable and well-bred 

 animals can seldom be operated on in the standing 

 position, this only being possible, as a rule, in coarse- 

 bred horses, which can be restrained in a trevis. 

 Furthermore, in the mare the ovaries are much further 

 removed from the vulva, and the ovarian ligament is 

 shorter than in the cow, so that it is impossible to 

 draw the ovaries into the vagina, in order to effect tor- 

 sion. The operator therefore has to introduce both 

 the hand and the instrument into the peritoneal cavity, 

 necessitating a much larger vaginal wound. 



In the standing position the operation resembles 

 that in the cow. Should a trevis not be at hand the 

 hind limbs must be fastened with ropes, and a couple 

 of strong poles or a strong sack be held under the body 

 to prevent the mare lying down. The rectum must be 

 entirely emptied. Hard fseces in the rectum are liable 

 to cause injury to the bowel when the vagina is incised. 

 As in the cow, the vaginal wall is divided above the os 

 uteri, after preliminary cleansing and disinfection of the 

 vagina, the vulva, and its neighbourhood. The injec- 

 tion of irritating fluids into the vagina must be avoided. Even i per 

 cent, sublimate solution, especially if used warm, irritates the mucous 

 membrane considerably, and causes straining, which interferes with 



