58 
PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
month of gestation period, because foaling time is uncertain in mares. 
Some of the signs of the coming parturition, according to him, are: “The 
udder becomes greatly distended some time before foaling, but the teats 
very seldom fill out full and plump to the end more than a few days 
before the foal is born. In most mares the vulva enlarges, and a redden¬ 
ing of the lining of the vagina is noticed immediately prior to parturi¬ 
tion. There is also a marked falling away and depression of the rump 
muscles about a week before the time. About twenty-four hours before 
foaling a clear wax forms on the end of the nipple. This wax is often 
confused with that formed from the colostrum which escapes from the 
udder so care is needed in distinguishing it. Immediately prior to time 
of parturition, the mare will usually show some nervousness and if with 
other stock, a desire to be left alone.” 
14. Management of Normal Parturition 
To gain full insight into the different steps involved in the management 
of normal parturition as well as the different changes and problems con¬ 
fronting the attendant during the act, it is again deemed fitting to refer 
to Williams’s 48 lengthy presentation on the subject. Thus, he writes: “In 
order to secure the required degree of cleanliness, [the mare] . . . 
should receive prior to parturition, a thorough bath with soap and warm 
water, to which is added a reliable antiseptic. The vagina and vulva 
should be thoroughly douched with warm physiologic salt solution, to 
which a mild antiseptic may be added. The tail, buttocks and udder 
should be thoroughly disinfected prior to the birth of the young, and again 
immediately after birth before the young is permitted to suck. 
“Some writers claim that the mother should be able to get the fetus at 
once, in order to release it from its membranes, but . . . it is doubt¬ 
ful that the . . . mare ever saves the life of her fetus by quickly 
removing the fetal membranes from its nostrils so as to permit it to 
breathe. Admittedly, it is important that the mother be allowed to 
cleanse her fetus thoroughly by licking it as soon as she has recovered 
from the exhaustion of labor. An attendant equipped with dry 
towels may, however, rub a fetus dry. In tuberculosis, it is even better 
that the dam shall not lick the fetus, lest she infect it, e. g., in the navel 
stump. Shavings are the most nearly aseptic bedding available for 
animals. 
“Some animals . . . become very nervous or even frantic when re¬ 
moved from their •companions and placed in a strange stall. This should 
be avoided. 
“The best place in which a herbivorous animal may give birth to young 
is the open field or pasture, if the weather will permit. 
“The watch upon an animal should therefore be barely sufficient to 
guard against any serious accident. 
“It is a general rule . . . that a veterinarian never saves the life 
of a foal in a case of dystocia, so abrupt is the labor in the mare and so 
quickly does the foal perish because of the early separation between the 
fetal and maternal placentae. Therefore it is highly important that the 
owner or caretaker of breeding mares should be competent to give first 
aid in cases of parturition, and it is a part of the duty of the veterinary 
obstetrist to instruct the owners of such animals, so far as may be prac¬ 
ticable, in these matters. 
“In some cases an extremity becomes pushed up against the roof of the 
vagina and into the rectum, so that a portion of the fetus may begin to 
protrude through the anus, still covered by the vaginal roof and rectal 
floor. If the owner promptly pushes these parts back and directs them 
properly in the genital passage, birth occurs safely, and perhaps a living 
foal is produced, but a few minutes’ delay leads to the rupture of the 
