68 OVARIOTOMY OF TROUBLESOME MARES. 



others it occurs between the periods, the animal being quieter 

 when "in season." In either case the animal is objectionable to 

 its owner, and professional aid is usually called in. Medicinal 

 sedatives, such as the bromides of potassium, sodium or 

 strontium, may answer temporarily, and even tide over a 

 year or two, but eventually there comes a time when the 

 mare is too treacherous or too objectionable to use, and she 

 must either be sold or something further be done. It is 

 at this stage that surgical aid can often intervene with 

 success, and the operation of ovariotomy be performed. If 

 a diseased condition of the ovaries is the cause of the trouble 

 (and this is the case in by far the greater proportion), 

 their removal will nearly always effect a cure if done soon 

 enough. The failures are usually to be found in aged mares, 

 or those to whom kicking has become a confirmed habit on 

 account of its long standing.^ If the operation is done before 

 the habit has existed for any great length of time, th^ results 

 are excellent,^ and for mares which have become a puisance 

 on account only of indecent behaviour the operator can almost 

 always give a prognosis of cure.^ 



Removal of the healthy ovaries (oophorectomy); is sometimes 

 practised in racing mares in order that when put into training 

 they can be relied upon to keep in better condition during the 

 summer, and not to stay alongside another horse during the 

 race. They are also said to be more even tempered.* 



In some cases one ovary only may be diseased, and its 

 presence may cause so much pain and irritation as to prevent 

 impregnation, whereas its removal may give the desired result.^ 



Condition of the Ovaries. — In troublesome mares, as a rule, 

 an abnormal condition of the ovaries exists. They may be two 

 or three times the normal size, in which case they are cystic, 

 and contain a lot of Graafian vesicles in various stages of 



1 See Appendix, Cases 1, 3 and 21. 



2 See Appendix, Cases 12, 13, 17, 20, 22, 27, 28, 29 and 30. 

 ' See Appendix, Cases 5, 8, 11, 19 and 23. 



■> See Appendix, Cases 4, 7, 9, 14, 2.5 and 26. 



^ " Veterinary Record," Vol. XV., page 210. See Appendix, Case 10. 



