The Brood Mare 2S7 



disease" or "joint disease," which kills hundreds of colts 

 every year. When the colts are a few days old the joints 

 swell, the legs become stiff, and the animal usually dies. 

 A veterinarian may be called at this time, but there is 

 very little hope of the animal recovering. Fortunately, 

 however, the disease may be prevented. It is a germ 

 disease caused by putrefactive organisms, the germs that 

 cause decay and rotting around the barns, strawstacks, 

 and manure piles. They enter through the raw navel 

 cord and if the colt is born and kept for the first few days 

 in a place where these germs are not present, the disease 

 will not exist. The best place, therefore, is in some grass 

 lot or pasture where there are no sheds, barns, manure 

 piles, or old straw stacks. The next best place is in a 

 box stall that has been thoroughly disinfected and cleaned. 

 The whole stall must be cleaned perfectly, new bedding 

 put in, and thoroughly sprayed with some good dis- 

 infectant. If possible, two stalls should be prepared, 

 and when the foal arrives, the mare's udder and hind 

 parts should be washed with some non-poisonous dis- 

 infectant, such as sheep dip, and the mare and foal 

 transferred to the other stall. The first stall can then be 

 cleaned out and prepared for the next mare. If the extra 

 stall is not at hand, wash the mare's udder as indicated, 

 clean out all the blood and after-birth, and disinfect again. 

 The colt's belly and cord should be cleaned imme- 

 diately with some good disinfectant. A good way of doing 

 this is to cut the umbilical cord about an inch and a half 

 long, and completely immerse the same in an iodine solu- 

 tion, also washing the immediately surrounding parts of 

 the belly with the solution. It is important that this 

 gets on the inner parts, as well as on the external surface 

 of the cord. The cord should later be treated with some 



