CHAPTER XXIII 



THE GENERAL INFECTIONS OF THE GENITALIA 

 OF HORSES 



The general infections of the genital organs of horses are 

 quite analogous to those of cattle. Apparently most bacteria 

 which are capable of acquiring a habitat in the genitalia of 

 cattle may do so in horses. Those who believe in a specific 

 "contagious abortion" for cows and another for mares claim 

 that the organism of "contagious abortion" in the cow will 

 cause abortion in the mare, and vice versa. They further 

 claim that the organisms causing abortion in each of these 

 are potent to cause abortion in ewes, sows, bitches, rabbits, 

 guinea pigs, etc. They have shown quite conclusively that 

 the organisms are able to acquire a habitat in numerous 

 domestic and experiment animals. How frequently the 

 alleged abortion-producing organisms naturally acquire a 

 habitat in the uteri of species other than that in which they 

 are alleged to be the cause of abortion is wholly unknown, 

 all recorded observations being predicated upon studies of 

 those animals which had been experimentally inoculated 

 with the infection. 



The subject of "contagious abortion" as a specific disease 

 in cattle has been discussed at length and any attempt to 

 discuss "contagious abortion" of mares would be an unwar- 

 ranted repetition. The evidences regarding the existence of 

 such specific disease in the mare are the same in principle, 

 but less voluminous than in the cow. Investigators claim 

 to have proven the existence of such specific disease in 

 mares and to have identified clearly the causative organism, 

 but, as in the cow, they have ignored the two most basic 

 principles in the experimental production of disease — they 

 have submitted no evidence of the freedom of the experi- 

 ment animal from the infection when the experiment was 

 begun, and no controls were kept. The genital organs of 

 horses offer analogous diseases throughout, modified by im- 

 portant variations in their anatomy. 



