smeared with extract
of belladonna, and the oiled hand, with the fingers and thumb drawn into
the form of a cone, may be inserted by slow oscillating movements into
the interior of the womb. The water bags may now be ruptured, any
malpresentation rectified (see "Difficult parturition"), and delivery
effected. After removal of the membranes wash out the womb first with
tepid water and then with a solution of 2 ounces of borax in half a
gallon of water.

This injection may have to be repeated if a discharge sets in. The same
course may be pursued even after prolonged retention. If the soft parts
of the fetus have been absorbed and the bones only left, these must be
carefully sought for and removed, and subsequent daily injections will
be required for some time. In such cases, too, a course of iron tonics
(sulphate of iron, 2 drams daily) will be highly beneficial in restoring
health and vigor.

ABORTION.

Abortion is, strictly speaking, the expulsion of the impregnated ovum at
any period from the date of impregnation until the foal can survive out
of the womb. If the foal is advanced enough to live, it is premature
parturition, and in the mare this may occur as early as the tenth month
(three hundredth day).

The mare may abort by reason of almost any cause that very profoundly
disturbs the system; hence, very violent inflammations of important
internal organs (bowels, kidneys, bladder, lungs) may induce abortion.
Profuse diarrhea, whether occurring from the reckless use of purgatives,
the consumption of irritants in the feed, or a simple indigestion, is an
effective cause. No less so is acute indigestion with evolution of gas
in the intestines (bloating). The presence of stone in the kidneys,
uterus, bladder, or urethra may induce so much sympathetic disorder in
the womb as to induce abortion. In exceptional cases wherein mares come
in heat during gestation, service by the stallion may cause abortion.
Blows or pressure on the abdomen, rapid driving or riding of the
pregnant mare, especially if she is soft and out of condition from
idleness, the brutal use of the spur or whip, and the jolting and
straining of travel by rail or boat are prolific causes. Bleeding the
pregnant mare, a painful surgical operation, and the throwing and
constraint resorted to for an operation are other causes. Traveling on
heavy, muddy roads, slips and falls on ice, and jumping must be added.
The stimulation of the abdominal organs by a f