EXTRAORDINARY GESTATION IN A MARE. 
217 
The history given by the owner is, that the mare has not been 
near any thing likely to cause abortion ; that it is only two days 
since she appeared unwell ; that, when she first appeared so, the 
farrier of the establishment gave her a bottle of white wine, and 
afterwards some nitre and sweet oil ; and that nothing much was 
thought about her ailment, seeing that her time was expired, and 
that the movements of the foetus have recently been observed. In- 
deed, the evening prior to my visit, the mare was said to have ex- 
• hibited the ordinary signs of approaching parturition ; she having 
manifested expulsive efforts, which were followed by discharge of 
glairy matter, and considerable dilatation of the vulva. And when, 
further, was perceived filling of the udder and sinking of the ab- 
domen, no doubt was entertained ; so that, next morning, when 
the owner came to enter her stable, and find no foal, he was 
struck with astonishment at discovering that all signs of foaling 
had vanished, to make room for others such as have been de- 
scribed. 
M. Caillier persisted in his investigations. He introduced his 
hand into the vagina to explore the neck of the uterus, which he 
found hard and completely closed : an examination, which, re- 
sisted as it was in every way by the mare herself, led M. Caillier 
to suspect the presence of scirrhus. He bled her, used emollient 
fomentations to the vagina, administered injections, &c. 
On his second visit, three days after, he found the mare had 
passed per vaginam glairy discharges, but in other respects was 
much the same. Notwithstanding, both the udder and the belly 
seemed diminished in bulk. She would eat a few handfuls of 
hay ; then she would withdraw her head to the length of her 
halter, and grind her teeth. 
M. Caillier had her made secure, and then proceeded to a fresh 
examination per vaginam. He found he could not introduce the 
point of the index finger into the orifice of the womb, but was 
opposed by a hard tumour, of a firmness and volume not correctly 
appreciable. 
The prognostic was now becoming despondent. Indeed, such 
was the gravity of the case, that he proposed performing the Caesa- 
rian operation on the vagina ; to this, however, the owner was 
obstinately opposed, alleging reasons, which, if not absurd, were 
of little validity. 
And so, according to her -master’s desire, the mare’s case was 
abandoned to nature. For a couple of months she remained 
stationary : then, however, in spite of her having immensely 
fallen away, she was turned out to graze. This improved her 
appetite, and she seemed to be getting better ; and as she had 
sufficiently recovered her health and strength, she was again, on 
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