The Brood Mare 287 
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. I{ 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 
