Contusions of the Neck and Withers from Bites 219 



not learned. He was withdrawn from the stud, kept sexu- 

 ally quiet, exercised freely, and fed lightly. Later he was 

 returned to the stud. He had been kept in sight of the mare 

 while the breeding hobbles were being applied, during which 

 time he became highly excited. This was changed so that 

 the mare was properly shackled before he was brought into 

 her presence. He was then allowed to copulate promptly, 

 before excessive erection could occur. The difficulty ceased. 



H. Contusions of the Neck and Withers from Bites 



In the mare, injuries to the neck and withers are liable to 

 occur from bites by the stallion during coitus. This is proba- 

 bly most common among heavy draft stallions, some of which 

 are very rough and cause more or less serious lacerations or 

 contusions, at times leading to fistulous withers. There 

 seems to be no means for breaking the stallion of the vice. 

 The only effective method of control is the application of a 

 muzzle prior to coition. 



I. Penial Injuries 



Injuries to the penis of the male just before, during, or 

 after copulation are by no means rare. The penis of the 

 stallion is most liable to injury from kicks by the mare just 

 as he mounts or dismounts. The prevention of such injuries 

 has been discussed above. Such contusions of the penis dur- 

 ing its great vascularity in the breeding season are very 

 difficult to handle. The stallion needs to be kept quiet and 

 free from sexual excitement. The penis should be retained 

 at rest within the sheath, by means of a suspensorium, and 

 the resulting local inflammation ameliorated by the applica- 

 ton of cooling astringents such as lead acetate, hamamelis, 

 tannin, belladonna, etc., combined if necessary with anti- 

 septics. Generally the patient may have quiet walking ex- 

 ercise, a restricted laxative diet, saline laxatives, or in case 

 of serious disturbance, prompt cathartics of the hypodermic 

 alkaloidal group (eserin, arecolin, etc.). 



