MANAGEMENT OF THE BROOD MARE 
61 
“If the genital organs have suffered any material injury during the act 
of birth, proper precaution should be taken against infection. For this 
purpose physiologic salt solution should be used to flush out the vulva 
and vagina. 
“As a general rule, when evidences of abdominal pain follow shortly 
after parturition, they suggest some pathologic condition, which may be 
more or less important, such as the portion of the fetal membranes or 
some genital displacement, such as a beginning inversion of the uterus. 
Consequently, whenever such pains are observed following parturition a 
careful manual exploration of the uterus should be made to determine 
the causes, followed by the application of the necessary remedies. 
“After the expulsion of the fetus and its membranes then follows im¬ 
mediately from the uterus a small volume of blood and placental debris 
. . . Except for this very trivial discharge, which is designated lochia, 
amounting ... to barely a few ounces, expelled within the first 
two or three hours after parturition, there is physiologically no puerperal 
genital discharge in domestic animals. 
“The mother often resents the approach of other animals or of persons, 
and is very liable to injure her young by treading upon them in an effort 
to protect them. Such danger is often observed with nervous mares. It 
it very common in the mare, and in many cases it is more or less dan¬ 
gerous to approach her when she is giving her first attention to a new¬ 
born foal. Not only may she trample the foal, but she may bite, strike, 
or kick any person who approaches her.” 
Relative to the same subject Kennedy 61 writes: “The mare should now 
be allowed to rest. The working of the mare after foaling should be 
delayed as long as possible, preferably until after weaning. If kept up, 
the mare should have plenty of nourishing, rather laxative food, except 
for the first day or two, when she must be fed lightly. Medicines and 
physics should be avoided, and if any serious condition arises a veterin¬ 
arian called. The place, however, for both mare and foal is out in a 
good, rich pasture, unless the weather is extremely bad, and even then 
they should be kept in just as little as possible. Scours and other di¬ 
gestive troubles are the chief dangers at this time, and they are seldom 
contracted in the pasture. 
“If it is necessary to work the mare she should at least be given a rest 
of ten days to two weeks. When first started to work the mare should 
be brought in so as to allow the colt to suck during the middle of the 
forenoon and afternoon. After the colt becomes accustomed to doing 
without the mare and her milk the period may be lengthened to the half 
day periods if the days are not too long. If the mare is warm or is a 
heavy milker, some of the fluid should be milked out, or scours and in¬ 
digestion will be produced in the colt. The colt should never be allowed 
milk from hot mares. The mares should be allowed to cool to some ex¬ 
tent and part of the milk drawn before turning with the colt.” 
Of this Johnstone 5 says that “after foaling the mare may have her 
ration gradually increased to its usual size. As a rule when the mare has 
been worked regularly almost up to her parturition a holiday of two 
weeks after it should see her in shape to go back to light work. About 
the third day, or even on the second, if the weather is fine, give her a 
chance to get out into some dry lot for exercise. At the end of two 
weeks she should have been gradually gotten back onto her usual feed 
and of course she should run out into the lot whenever she wants to. 
When it comes time to put her back in the harness leave the foal in the 
boxstall when she is taken out to work. He will fret at first but he will 
soon get accustomed to doing without his mammy. At first work the 
mare but half a day. She will be soft and worry greatly, probably heat¬ 
ing herself up quite badly. A good plan in such cases is, on coming in 
at noon, to milk the mare almost dry and then put her in a stall in the 
work stable to eat a little hay and cool off. After she has cooled off so 
