THE BREEDING OF HOUSES 115 



Ills of the young foal. Constipation. — Notwithstanding the 

 purgative effects of the colostrum or first flow of milk, the 

 young foal frequently suffers from , constipation, especially if 

 the mare has not been in good health during the latter periods 

 of pregnancy. Then again, the dam may have something 

 wrong with her first milk, or the young foal through weakness 

 may not get a good draft. Whatever the cause, if the digestive 

 tract has not been cleaned of its contents within twenty-four 

 hours and the foal presents a droopy, listless appearance, eyes 

 not bright, ears lopped over, something must be done to stimu- 

 late the action of the bowels. The bowels will ordinarily be 

 stimulated actively by administering two ounces of olive oil 

 or castor oil and an injection of warm water into the bowels. 

 The water should be at blood heat and have added to it a little 

 glycerine — a teaspoonful of glycerine and enough warm water 

 to make two or three ounces, not more. Never try to fill the 

 little foal with copious douches of soap-suds, as is often done. 

 Plain cold water is better than soap-suds. Only a very little 

 is needed. Inject gently into the rectum with a common two- 

 ounce hard rubber syringe, taking care not to rupture the tender 

 membrane. This will lubricate the passage and induce the foal 

 to endeavor to pass the fecal matter, which is a yellowish, rather 

 hard, waxy substance. If given as directed, the injection can 

 do no harm, and it may be repeated every hour. In five 

 hours, relief will usually have been gained and the appearance 

 of the youngster will have changed greatly for the better. 



Diarrhea or scours. — This disease is rather prevalent among 

 suckling animals, and is often fatal. Although less subject to 

 it than calves, foals often die from diarrhea within a short 

 time after birth. The causes are not certainly known. It is 

 ordinarily attributed to changes of an unknown character in the 

 composition of the milk. Two facts, however, have been proved : 

 First, that the causes of scours are many and varied; second, 

 that their potency is increased by unclean surroundings, espe- 



