STALLIONS, BROOD MARES AND FOALS. 169 



the mare by general signs and by particular phenomena pre- 

 sented by the generative organs. 



The intensity of the objective signs varies very much in 

 different individuals; in some all the symptoms are evinced 

 by inappetence, increased thirst, agitation, impatience, fre- 

 quent neighing, and efforts to urinate; the vulva are swollen 

 the lining membrance reddened, and a white glairy dis- 

 charge issues therefrom; in others no signs are recognizable 

 by which the condition of "heat"' can be inferred. Its pres- 

 ence is not apparent until the mare is "tried'' by a stallion. 



The most opportune time for a matron mare to be again 

 served is the ninth day after foaling; for subsequent proof 

 that she has conceived to a former service the twentieth or 

 twenty-first day is usually selected. Many usages are still 

 had recourse to in the endeavor to insure conception by 

 mares that have previously shown an indisposition to be 

 fecundated, but the barbarous customs much practiced in 

 former years by ignorant persons for the attainment of that 

 object are now happily becoming of less frequent occur- 

 rence. 



Acting upon the knowledge that exercise has the effect of 

 provoking the evacuation of the excreta, and also of render- 

 ing petulant females more tranquil, the Arabs gallop their 

 mares to excess and submit them to the stallion fatigued and 

 inclined for rest. The most novel practice in this respect is 

 the administration of about two-thirds of a pint of vinegar 

 to the mare immediately after service. I have no experi- 

 ence of this mode of treatment and I fail to see any physio- 

 logical reason why it should be successful. Complaints of 

 the infecundity of a stallion are ever frequent, and often so 

 when the cause is entirely due to the unfit state in which the 

 mare is presented. Unless she is served at the moment in 

 the plenitude of heat her owner should attach no blame to 

 the horse if the essay proves unfruitful. The abstraction of 

 blood has in some cases been followed by successful results; 

 but the most rational practice that can be adopted is to 

 reduce the condition of mares refractory to conception by 

 submitting them to a prolonged course of cooling diet, of 

 which corn should form no constituent, and after completion 



