DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 185 
be served again for a month or longer, and in no case until after all 
discharge from the vulva has ceased. 
INFECTIOUS ABORTION IN MARES. 
This disease is discussed in the chapter on “ Infectious Diseases.” 
PARTURITION. 
SYMPTOMS OF PARTURITION. 
As the period of parturition approaches, the swelling of the udder 
bespeaks the coming event, the engorgement in exceptional cases 
extending forward on the lower surface of the abdomen and even into 
the hind limbs. For about a week a serous fluid oozes from the teat 
and concretes as a yellow, waxlike mass around its orifice. About 
94 hours before the birth this gives place to a whitish, milky liquid, 
which falls upon and mats the hairs on the inner sides of the 
legs. Another symptom is enlargement of the vulva, with redness 
of its lining membrane, and the escape of glairy mucus. The belly 
droops, the flanks fall in, and the loins may even become depressed. 
Finally the mare becomes uneasy, stops feeding, looks anxious, 
whisks her tail, and may lie down and rise again. In many mares 
this is not repeated, but they remain down; violent contractions of 
the abdominal muscles ensue; after two or three pains the water 
bags appear, and burst, followed by the fore feet of the foal, with 
the nose between the knees, and by a few more throes the fetus is 
expelled. In other cases the act is accomplished standing. The 
whole act may not occupy more than 5 or 10 minutes. This, together 
with the disposition of the mare to avoid observation, renders the 
act one that is rarely seen by the attendants. 
The navel string, which connects the foal to the membranes, ‘is 
ruptured when the fetus falls to the ground, or when the mare rises, 
if she has been down, and the membranes are expelled a few minutes 
later. 
NATURAL PRESENTATION. 
When there is a single foal, the common and desirable presentation 
is with the fore feet first, the nose between the knees, and with the 
front of the hoofs and knees and the forehead directed upward toward 
the anus, tail, and croup. (Plate XII, fig. 1.) In this way the 
natural curvature of the body of the fetus corresponds to the curve 
of the womb and genital passages, and particularly of the bony 
pelvis, and the foal passes’with much greater ease than if placed 
with its back downward toward the udder. When there is a twin 
birth the second foal usually comes with its hind feet first, and the 
backs of the legs, the points of the hocks, and the tail and croup are 
turned upward toward the anus and tail of the mare. (Plate XII, 
