SIGNS of DISEASE
—are various in horses, as influenced by the different sensations originating in the peculiar disorder of which they are the prognostics. One leading sign of internal pain or disquietude in a horse is, the refusal of his FOOD, a drooping of the head, a dulness of the eyes, a general bodily lassitude, and a seeming dislike to action. These are evident signs of indisposition, and should always prove an immediate stimulus to necessary examination, which cannot be made too soon, as many horses are totally lost for want of proper attention at the commencement of disease. Those just mentioned, are not considered symptoms of severity, or such as hold forth indications of SPEEDY DANGER; but they are of consequence to justify such early counteraction, as the nature of each particular case may render a matter of prudence and precaution. Much information may be collected from the state of the pulse, the warmth or coldness of the ears, the parching heat, clammy viscidity, or fleshy smell of the mouth, the heaving of the flank, the white or inflamed state of the eye-lids, and the glassy appearance of the eyes themselves; all which appertain to cold, fever, pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, or affections of the liver. A horse's being in excruciating pain, looking back to his flank incessantly on either one side or the other, laying, or rather dropping, down suddenly, extending his extremities to the utmost, groaning at the same time, then raising his head as he lays, and pointing the nose to his flank, rolling over in his stall, and hastily rising, are all symptoms of cholic, and of that kind termed inflammatory, occasioned by indurated excrements in the intestinal canal, which, if not properly and expeditiously removed, produce MORTIFICATION, and, of course, death.
If the body is greatly distended, having the same symptoms, it is then called the flatulent cholic, and proceeds from the confined collection and retention of wind; to the immediate relief of which, flank and belly rubbing by two good strong men (one on each side) will greatly contribute. Constantly striding, and endeavouring to stale without success, denotes defect in the sphincter or neck of the bladder: discharging the urine by dribblings, in small quantities, and often, may be considered some injury sustained in the KIDNIES, particularly if the urine is in any degree tinged with blood. Glandular tumefactions under the jaws, with a soreness of the throat, if the horse is young, may be supposed an attack of the strangles; if an aged horse, who is known to have had that disorder, GLANDERS may probably ensue. A dry parched tongue, wrinkled at the sides with constant heat, is a palpable proof of fever; a raw and fleshy smell from the same, confirms it: a putrid fœtid smell from the nostrils, attended with a slimy discharge, equally glutinous and offensive, denotes a consumption of the lungs. A horse constantly dejected, with a gradually declining appetite, and inattention to those about him, bearing his head constantly to his right side, may be suspected of an inflammation of, or a tumefaction in, the LIVER, affording an additional and strongly corroborating symptom, if there is a palpable yellowness upon the original white of the eyes. This latter is also a distinguishing trait of jaundice.
Horses, when first attacked with fever, or an inflammation of the lungs, are observed to have alternate fits of shivering for the first two or three hours. Although a horse's coat may be rough and hollow from a cold stable, neglect, and ill looking after, it is sometimes a proof that all is not right within. If a horse is observed to strike his foot petulantly, and repeatedly, against his belly, threatenings of CHOLIC may be apprehended: but if at the same time he frisks his tail, and draws it in close to his quarters, irritation in the rectum is the cause; and the pain in the body, and itching at the anus, are produced by WORMS. In addition to the signs of disease, a few words may be applicable upon the signs of health; and although the horse's VIGOUR, STRENGTH, and SPIRITS, will, upon nearly all occasions, unerringly demonstrate this, yet some few shades of instruction and precaution may be acquired from a little attention to the secretions of, and discharges from, the body.
A HORSE or MARE in high health, seldom varies much in the colors or quantities of what are termed the excrementitious discharges from the body; as they are in general a tolerable criterion of the real state it is in. The dung from a horse in good condition for work, free from a viscid or diseased affection of the blood, and the various disorders and humours dependent thereupon, will be mostly observed of a pale yellow, moderately united in firm bright globules, rather brittle than adhesive, with a shining slippery surface, but perfectly free from a glutinous viscid slime. If the dung is hard, black, and offensive, when it falls, the body is overloaded, the habit is costive, and it has been too long retained; if covered with the gluey slime before described, it is a sufficient proof of internal foulness, and most probably of impending disease. When a horse is labouring under a dangerous disease, some occasional assisting information may be derived from the URINE as it falls, and much more if caught, and set by to subside. If it comes away limpid and colourless, remaining in that state after being set by, it is not considered a symptom of a very favourable complexion; but if it comes away red, or of a turbid yellow, with an oily skin upon its surface, and afterwards deposits a kind of brickdust sediment, with a kind of strong or terebinthinate effluvia, it may be considered a good sign, and is very frequently the harbinger of a speedy recovery.
If, during the progress and various changes of disease, it should assume different appearances, first of the healthy, and then the opposite aspect, the case is doubtful, and danger may be apprehended; as it affords sufficient demonstration, there is a powerful struggle in the system, and the morbid miasma is not subdued. The best state of a horse's urine, when in HEALTH and CONDITION, is of a yellowish tinge, moderate consistence, a strong smell, rather grateful than offensive, and a penetrating property: these, in the aggregate, may be concluded indications of spirits, strength, and vigour; the reverse, (in any serious degree,) slight symptoms of disquietude, or impending disease. After all the inculcations that can possibly be introduced under this head, the most judicious and experienced practitioner will sometimes find it extremely difficult to distinguish, with certainty, between one internal disease and another; having nothing to assist him in the discovery but his own judgment, and the most predominant symptoms at the moment, many of which are common to other diseases. Notwithstanding these uncertainties, and the doubts which may arise between one and the other, it is the duty of every Veterinarian to acquire as perfect a knowledge as possible of DIAGNOSTICS; for although his incessant inquiries may not render him an infallible guide in every case without exception, it will afford him the gratification of a distinguished superiority over those who have neglected to avail themselves of the same advantages.