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.