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the first violent preliminaries are observed. When 

 an attendant is watching a foaling mare, he should 

 keep perfectly quiet in some corner, unseen by the 

 mare, as a number of mares are very shy, and will 

 scarcely foal if anyone is present. No manual 

 assistance should be given unless absolutely neces- 

 sary. Nature generally does her own work best 

 when left alone. In ordinary cases the foetus is ex- 

 pelled in from five to fifteen minutes. When mares 

 cannot foal naturally of their own accord, something 

 is sure to be seriously wrong, and the services of a 

 qualified veterinary surgeon should be speedily ob- 

 tained. In such circumstances, mares do not struggle 

 long before giving in, much, of course, depending on 

 their constitution and temperament. 



HOW TO MANAGE THE FOAL. 



As soon as the foal is born, the attendant should 

 break the sheet that covers its head, although, in 

 most cases, it is ruptured by the action of foaling. 

 If this is not done, the foal will be unable to breathe, 

 and will, of course, expire at once. The navel-string 

 also should be noticed. In cases where it is violently 

 severed at birth, blood will discharge so rapidly that 

 the foal will not live for five minutes. The navel- 

 string should be tightly tied with a piece of cord 

 about an inch and a half from the body, which stops 

 the discharge at once. The cord should be dipped 

 into a suitable antiseptic previous to application. 

 Indeed, it is a safe plan to tie the navel-strings of 



