THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOR. 205 



and afterwards deprived of sexual intercourse. The disease is 

 more apt to make its appearance about the menstrual period * 

 than any other; at such times the mare should be fed light, and 

 excused from every sort of active work ; perhaps a saline aperient 



* The following communication on menstruation in mares has been received 

 by the author, from Dr. C. H. Cleaveland : — 



" Probably all know that mares of the proper age, and at certain seasons 

 of the year, menstruate, or, in other words, have uneasy turns, get ' foolish, 

 as they say in Illinois ; and that, at such times, they seem unwilling to perform 

 their usual task, either as travellers or as draught horses; that they seem fret 

 ful, and often ill tempered, vicious, spiteful, and frequently get a most thorough 

 whipping, because their masters also get 4 foolish.' 



"Now, the simple fact is, that the mare knows more than her master in 

 regard to her then condition, and she is trying to drive into his foolish noddle 

 that, on such days, she should be left quiet, and be subject to no labor beyond 

 the most gentle exercise. 



" If the reason why this course should be pursued, in preference to the hard 

 work and the whipping which your mare has had bestowed upon her at such 

 times, is not now plain and satisfactory to you, most sapient reader, just inquire 

 of any old matron within the circle of your acquaintance, and she will tell you 

 that I am correct, but perhaps ' without a why or wherefore.' 



" The reproductive organs, in all animals, are intimately connected with the 

 nervous system, and of course exert a vast influence over not only the nerves, 

 but also the entire body, mind, and disposition ; and when those organs are 

 deranged or diseased, the entire animal economy must suffer and be rendered 

 in a greater or less degree unfitted to perform its usual labors. In the female, 

 these organs exercise a still more powerful influence upon the other parts of the 

 system than in the male ; and as they are liable to periodical derangements or 

 excitements, it becomes obviously necessary to be strictly cautious not to tax 

 the animal's powers of endurance at those periods. 



" Mares that have been ridden under the saddle, or driven in harness, during 

 their periods of heat, and have performed no more than their usual amount of 

 labor, are frequently discovered to be covered with perspiration across the loins, 

 while all other parts of the surface are cool and dry ; and the hostlers will say 

 that they have been unable to rub those moist spots dry, even after the lapse 

 of many hours ; and the next day the mare is observed to drag her hind leg? 

 after her, almost as though her back were broken. Indeed, her back is lame, 

 weak, and painful. She urinates with difficulty, and there is evident inflam- 

 mation of the kidneys, the ovaries, and the uterus. 



" From slight injuries of this class mares will readily recover ; but if they are 

 of too frequent repetition, or the injury be of too grave a character, the chances 

 are, that the animal will be unable ever after to perform well, and will soon 

 become nervous, irritable, and weak, and will be passed from jockey to jockey 

 until she dies ; a martyr not to her own 'foolishness,' — for her waywardness at 

 those times are wise admonitions to her master, — but to the folly of those who 

 will not learn to understand nature, because ' they know all about their horses,' 

 and do not wish to be instructed by any book doctor." 



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