254 VETERINARY HOMCEOPATHY. 



mare; but as the result of many j'ears' experience during which 

 time the opportunity of examining a large number of mares has 

 arisen, we unhesitatingly alhrni that with a considerable proportion 

 of barren mares the stallion is not to blame, but the mare herself. 



Displacements of the uterus are frequent; the cause of 

 these it is not necessary to go into, further than to affirm it as our 

 belief that they are due in a large number of cases to unneces- 

 sarily rough obstetric surgery at a previous delivery, but whatever 

 the cause may be, the fact remains, displacements of the uterus are 

 frequently met with; to obviate this and procure conception 

 it is necessary, in the first place, to allay all the inflammatory 

 effects arising from the distortion of the organ, and thereafter to 

 ensure the introduction of the male semen into the proper chan- 

 nel by means of an instrument, for the invention of which obstetric 

 veterinary surgeons are indebted to American ingenuity. Mares 

 that have once proved barren should be submitted to a careful 

 manual examination without running the risk of losing another 

 season, expending money in stallion's fees, or before raising any 

 question as to the sterility of the horse; this last precaution serves 

 two useful purposes; y?/'^^//)', it obviates the risk of any legal or 

 contentious proceedings on the part of the owner of the stallion for 

 libellino- his animal, and, secondly, it saves the owner of the mare 

 from further disappointment should he have special reasons for 

 availing of the cross with that particular animal; and yet, again, 

 he has the satisfaction of tracing the absolute cause of the barren- 

 ness and may therefore know how to obviate it in the future; we 

 have reason to speak confidently as to the practical utility of the 

 OS dieator, having put it to the test with perfectly satisfactory 

 results. 



Other causes of abortion and barrenness are an inflammatory 

 and ulcerated condition of the uterus; also of the neck and mouth 

 of the uterus; this inflammatory condition of the uterus and ad- 

 joining parts results in the secretion of an unhealthy and foetid 

 discharge, occasionally of an acrid and acid character; if this is 

 present when conception takes place it tends to render the develop- 

 ment of the embryo very imperfect and usually results in abor- 

 tion; and it may be added that the acridity of the secretion is 

 frequently sufficient to destroy the vitality of the semen, prevent 

 conception, and so prove the immediate cause of barremiess. The 



