SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT 533 



a nice lot where the mother and her baby may enjoy 

 themselves free from the danger and annoyance of 

 other horses. 



"But whenever and wherever the foal comes, when 

 the mare lies down it must be somebody's business 

 to be on the spot ready to help the mare and take 

 care of the foal. Inexperienced men, either through 

 excitement or through ignorance, too often unduly 

 hasten the coming of the foal. This is bad for the 

 mare and often fatal for the foal. The rope is fre- 

 quently called into use too soon, and more often is 

 used too severely and without judgment. Give the 

 mare a little time; nature will assist powerfully if 

 left to herself. 



' ' The navel cord of the foal should be left untied. 

 Paint at once with iodine and completely cover with 

 some drying powder. The powder should be applied 

 repeatedly until the cord has entirely dried u,p and 

 healed. In aggravated cases give the iodine treat- 

 ment once or twice a day, spraying the interior of 

 the cord if the trouble is extreme, and apply the 

 powder three or four times a day. Beware the little 

 pus pockets. As a further precaution against navel- 

 ill, give the first bacterin treatment in 24 hours; 

 repeat in 6 days and again when the foal is about a 

 month old. Fortunately for men remote from a 

 veterinarian, this treatment does not require pro- 

 fessional services. Any one with ordinary horse 

 experience can do the work.* 



*NOTB — Touching the important matter of Pyemic and Septic Joint 

 Diseases of Suclilings (Omphalophlebitis Septica) Dr. Theo. C. Tiede- 

 bolil supplies the following: 



"This disease is both contagious and infectious, affecting a new 

 born animal, occurring usually in the first few days of life, and seldom 

 after 30 days, and in the greater majority of cases, it develops as the 

 result of umbilical infections, due to the fact that the stump of the 

 umbilical cord still being moist but yet no longer nourished, making it 

 a favorable seat for infection, infective organism g^ns entrance into 



