172 VETERINARY LECTURES 



is that of the navel — umbilical hernia, as it is called. The best 

 remedy for this is to apply a special truss when the foal is first taken 

 from its mother, or it may be reduced by an operation — casting the 

 animal on to its back, and passing needles through the sac and 

 ligaturing, or by a special clamp ; this operation is, however, at times 

 followed by blood-poisoning and lock-jaw. 



269. The Rectum. — I have seen a number of cases where this 

 intestine was damaged by a stick, or other foreign body, being 

 passed up by malicious individuals, with the result that troublesome 

 abscesses have formed, causing great straining and swelling round 

 the vent and under the tail. These cases are best diagnosed by 

 passing the hand into the rectum, when the lesion may be felt. 

 When full of matter — pus — they have to be cut into through the 

 walls of the bowel. Rupture of the rectum may take place where an 

 aged mare is being served by a young and vigorous horse ; a few 

 cases of this kind have come under my notice, and invariably the 

 groom has been blamed for injudicious service in the rectum, of 

 which I am very doubtful, and do not favour the idea, for if the 

 bowel be loaded with dung, the roof of the rectum is very readily 

 torn from its attachments even during proper service. I have had 

 two cases in mares, one of which was climbing over a fence and fell 

 heavily on to her side into a ditch, and the rectum, which was full 

 of excreta, was extensively torn for about 18 inches ; the other case 

 was somewhat similar, the animal falling while yoked in a loaded 

 cart, the s?,me misfortune occurring. Aged mares that have had 

 several foals should always be examined, and the rectum emptied 

 either with warm- water injections or with the hand before service. 

 The principal injury, however, is found in the mare, when, in the act 

 of foaling, one of the foal's feet is pushed through the roof of the 

 vagina into the rectum, resulting in a troublesome fistula ; or the 

 rectum and vagina may be torn into one. In these cases there 

 is, as a rule, extensive inflammation and sloughing of the parts 

 {par. 32). Occasionally we meet with cases of eversion of the 

 rectum, caused by impaction through some error of feeding, when, 

 on attempting to pass the faeces, the rectum becomes turned out. In 



