F THE FETUS (FOAL).

Though far less frequently than in the case of the cow, parturition may
not be completed at term, and the mare, to her serious and even fatal
injury, may carry the foal in the womb for a number of months. Hamon
records one case in which the mare died after carrying the fetus for 17
months, and Caillier a similar result after it had been carried 22
months. In these cases the fetus retained its natural form, but in one
reported by Gohier the bones only were left in the womb amid a mass of
apparently purulent matter.

_Cause._--The cause may be any effective obstruction to the act of
parturition, such as lack of contractile power in the womb, unduly
strong (inflammatory) adhesions between the womb and the fetal
membranes, wrong presentation of the fetus, contracted pelvis (from
fracture or disease of the bones), or disease and induration of the neck
of the womb.

The mere prolongation of gestation does not necessarily entail the death
of the foal; hence the latter has been born alive at the four hundredth
day. Even when the foal has perished putrefaction does not set in unless
the membranes (water bags) have been ruptured and septic bacteria have
been admitted to the interior of the womb. In the latter case a fetid
decomposition advances rapidly, and the mare usually perishes from
poisoning with the putrid matters absorbed.

At the natural period of parturition preparations are apparently made
for that act. The vulva swells and discharges much mucus, the udder
enlarges, the belly becomes more pendent, and the animal strains more or
less. No progress is made, however; there is not even opening of the
neck of the womb, and after a time the symptoms subside. The mare
usually refuses the male, yet there are exceptions to this rule. If the
neck of the womb has been opened and putrefying changes in its contents
have set in, the mare loses appetite and condition, pines, discharges an
offensive matter from the generative passages, and dies of inflammation
of the womb and putrid infection. In other cases there is a slow wearing
out of the strength, and she finally dies of exhaustion.

The treatment is such as will facilitate the expulsion of the fetus and
its membranes and the subsequent washing out of the womb with
disinfectants. So long as the mouth of the womb is closed time should be
allowed for its natural dilatation, but if this does not come about
after a day or two of straining, the opening may be