A TREATISE ON HORSE-BREEDING. 



strength and extreme debility have been produced by the 

 frequent and powerful efforts of the animal to expel the 

 foetus. 



There are various other unnatural presentations and 

 causes in operation to prevent the natural process of partu- 

 rition, as, for instance, dropsy or from the urachus being 

 impervious, when the whole of the urine secreted by the 

 young animal during the foetal life would collect in its blad- 

 der and thus cause an immense enlargement of its abdomen; 

 or, the foetus may partake of the form of a lusus natures, 

 where we have a redundancy or multiplicity of natural parts, 

 as of two heads and one body, or vice versa, etc. A hard and 

 unyielding (rigid) state of the neck of the uterus will also 

 prevent labor. Should it proceed from spasmodic contrac- 

 tion of that part, as is sometimes the case, constant pressure 

 by the hand will often relieve it and thus cause it to dilate; 

 but if we cannot dilate it in this way the best method is to 

 carefully divide it with a bistoury. Tumors in the vagina 

 also are great obstacles to the passage of the foetus, and it is 

 frequently found necessary to dissect them away before de- 

 livery can be effected. 



In all cases where we have preternatural presentation our 

 object must be to endeavor to bring it as near to a natural 

 one as possible. Whenever turning or altering the position 

 of the young one must be had recourse to, it should be done, 

 if possible, before the uterus has firmly contracted itself 

 around the body or its contents; for it is always a circum- 

 stance which renders the operation infinitely more difficult 

 and dangerous and not infrequently impracticable. The 

 skilled veterinarian when called to attend in protracted 

 cases very often finds the uterus strongly contracted around 

 its contents and the operation so replete with difficulty and 

 danger, both to the mother and the young, that he cannot 

 hope for the preservation of them both, and perhaps turning 

 has become impracticable. Some other expedient must then 

 be resorted to and the young one destroyed to save the life 

 of the mother. If the foetus cannot be extracted by mod- 

 erate force recourse must be had to embryotomy or removal 

 by dismemberment, beheading, disemboweling, etc. 



