276 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERV 



complaint. In that case it will be necessary to add 

 a tonic to the above prescription. Let that be — 



Gentian . . . . i drachm, 

 Ground ginger . . h drachm. 



Besides what we have above recommended, it 

 will be found that friction may be advantageously 

 employed, as it arouses the dormant energies of the 

 secreting vessels. Additional clothing may also be 

 resorted to with great advantage. We must, how- 

 ever, draw a marked distinction between heat thus 

 employed from that of keeping the stable warm. 

 This is too frequently resorted to by injudicious 

 grooms, who thus contaminate the atmosphere of 

 the stable, and keep up what is very often the cause 

 of the disease. Nothing is of so much consequence 

 as a well-aired stable ; and if warmth is necessary, 

 let it be applied in the shape of clothing. 



SURFEIT. 



Symptoms. — In the spring large pimples or lumps 

 suddenly make their appearance on the skin of the 

 horse. They differ materially in their effects, as 

 some are attended with much itching, and others 

 seem to give the animal no uneasiness whatever. 

 Instances occur in which they disappear as suddenly 

 as they came. When they do remain, in a few days 

 the epidermis peels off, leaving a small scale-like 

 spot, which is rarely a sore. In some instances 

 these lumps are confined to the neck ; but more 

 frequently they extend over the back, loins, and 

 quarters. 



Cause. — The true cause of this cutaneous disease 

 is not known, although it has been called surfeit, 

 from a supposed resemblance to those eruptions in 



