204 DISEASES OP THE HORSE. 



the hair be short and dry, accompanied with extrema 

 itchiness — so much so, sometimes, that horses so affected 

 become almost unmanageable. The situation of this dis- 

 ease is usually in the hind legs, and is considered hereditary. 

 At all events, when a horse is once attacked by it, it is 

 liable to return again with the warm weather. 



Cause. A peculiar condition of the blood, developed by 

 heat. 



Treatment. This disease in my hands, in several carriage 

 horses which were rendered completely useless in the 

 summer months, has not only been cured, but also pre- 

 vented from returning, by the administering of half ounce 

 doses of the sulphite of soda, for two weeks previous to 

 the hot weather, once a day. In addition to this, a few 

 bundles of fresh grass, cut from the borders of several 

 gardens, were given. The soda, designed to neutralize, 

 ferments in the blood; and the fresh cut grass to assist, 

 by its action on the stomach and bowels, and ultimately 

 upon the blood itself. 



(4.) Surfeit. — A disease making its appearance in the 

 spring of the year in fat horses that are short and well 

 built. It is characterized by tumors about the size of a 

 grain of Indian com, covering the whole body as com- 

 pletely as the nettle-rash does that of children, and does 

 not generally cause itching, nor is it, like some skin 

 diseases, contagious. 



Cause. Robust stamina. 



Treatment. Give soft or slop feed composed of bran, cu* 

 hay, cold water, and salt, for a few days. Give grass, if 

 it can be had, without any additional feed. A few doses 

 of the sulphite of soda will be of advantage. 



Bleeding and purging have arrested the tumors in their 

 growth, but unfortunately they become permanent fixtures. 



