DISEASES PECULIAR TO BREEDING STOCK. 331 



then, by aid or the hand and partly by the rope, be secured 

 and placed upon the fore legs, when gentle traction, not by 

 the ropes, should be proceeded with as in the foregoing case. 

 It will be useless to attempt to bring the foal forth with the 

 head alone protruding, nor should the attempt be made, as 

 the life of the colt will thus be endangered. 



Again, we meet with what are termed breech presenta- 

 tions, where the tail only presents itself to our view, and the 

 hind legs are doubled under the body; and these will be 

 found to offer an insuperable obstacle to natural expulsion. 

 The hand must be introduced, so as to fasten cords around 

 each leg above the hocks, after which the foetus must be 

 passed as far back into the uterus as possible, to enable us to 

 bring forward the feet, when the birth may be easily ac- 

 complished. 



In the case where only one fore leg is presented, the other 

 one extending inward, and the head pressed against the 

 pelvic bone, the soft cord should be applied around the pro- 

 truding leg; then the hand, armed with a soft slip-noose, 

 should secure this around the lower jaw, after which pres- 

 sure should be made against the breast and the foal pushed 

 in so far as to allow the head to be placed in position by an 

 assistant gently pulling on the rope attached around the 

 jaw. Then the other fore leg is to be secured and brought 

 forward, whereupon moderate traction may be made upon 

 both legs and the head, but not by the ropes. If the expul- 

 sive pains of the mare are strong the tightly impacted state 

 of the head will offer considerable difficulty in manipulation. 



One of the most dreaded of all other cases is where the 

 animal has been neglected and the foetus is discovered to 

 have been dead several hours. Putrefactive fermentation 

 will be found to have taken place, an immense quantity of 

 gas has diffused itself in the cellular tissue, and the foetus 

 has attained twice its natural size. The safest and almost 

 only method to adopt in such cases will be to dissect the 

 foetus away; for although it may present itself in a natural 

 position, we should not be warranted in having recourse to 

 any means to endeavor to excite the uterus to contract upon 

 its contents, as we invariably find that great prostration of 



