192 SURFEIT. 



SURFEIT. 



This consists of lumps which appear on the skin of 

 the horse, oftener in the spring than at any other 

 season. They are sometimes scattered all over the 

 animal : at other times they are thicker upon his neck 

 and fore parts ; or sometimes they are seen on the 

 loins or quarters alone. Occasionally they are at- 

 tended by a great itching ; but in other cases they do 

 not seem to inconvenience the animal. They usually 

 appear with little or no warning, excepting a very 

 slight listlessness ; and they not unfrequently go 

 away as suddenly as they came. This is particularly 

 the case when they seem to run in lines ; and have an 

 appearance very similar to the wheals from a whip. 

 Sometimes, however, the eruption assumes the form 

 of a pustule which breaks, and the viscid fluid that it 

 contains clings about the roots of the hair : the hair 

 comes off, leaving a bare place so far as the pustule 

 extended. The hair in process of time grows upon 

 these spots, and there remains little trace of what has 

 happened ; but in some instances, when the pustules 

 have been numerous and large, surfeit degenerates 

 into mange of a virulent character. 



The term surfeit seems to refer the eruption of the 

 skin to indigestion. There is no doubt that violent 

 indigestion will produce in most animals inflammation 

 and pustular eruption on the skin. Surfeit has been 

 traced to kiln-burnt oats ; to mow-burnt hay ; or to 

 poisonous plants : but oftener it has followed the ap- 

 plication of some direct stimulant to the skin; as 

 exposure to cold when the horse was hot, especially in 



