It is, at all
events, absolutely necessary to allow an interval of one year, and for
that period to let her lie fallow. A mare, then, breeds at
intervals; a she-ass breeds on and on without intermission. Of mares
some are absolutely sterile, others are capable of conception but
incapable of bringing the foal to full term; it is said to be an
indication of this condition in a mare, that her foal if dissected
is found to have other kidney-shaped substances round about its
kidneys, presenting the appearance of having four kidneys.
After parturition the mare at once swallows the after-birth, and
bites off the growth, called the 'hippomanes', that is found on the
forehead of the foal. This growth is somewhat smaller than a dried
fig; and in shape is broad and round, and in colour black. If any
bystander gets possession of it before the mare, and the mare gets a
smell of it, she goes wild and frantic at the smell. And it is for
this reason that venders of drugs and simples hold the substance in
high request and include it among their stores.
If an ass cover a mare after the mare has been covered by a
horse, the ass will destroy the previously formed embryo.
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