188 THE ORANGE COUNTY 



symptoms disappear. The usual test of startling the animal 

 is by no means an infallible criterion, neither is the stetho- 

 scope in all cases to be relied upon. There is but one positive 

 mode of determining the question: the animal being in a 

 proper 'condition, he must be ridden and tried in all his 

 paces. With stallions this proof is not often practiable; and 

 unless they are badly affected, it is often impossible to prove 

 that they are roarers. There is no point upon which the 

 owner of such a horse is so much tenacious as that of an accusa- 

 tion that his favorite is a roarer. Tell the proprietor that 

 his horse's legs are bad, insinuate that he broke down in 

 consequence, he will receive your remark with complacency: 

 tell him that his horse's hocks are bad, and point out to him 

 an incipient spavin, or an unequivocal curb, he will receive 

 your objection with indifference; point out to him a multi- 

 tude of unsymmetrical proportions, he will listen to you with 

 calmness; but only intimate to him that you think his horse 

 is a roarer, and he will roar in your ear a challenge of defi- 

 ance in proof of your allusion. 



Large horses certainly have a greater tendency to become 

 roarers than smaller ones, and irritable-tempered ones more 

 frequently than those of a phlegmatic disposition. Several 

 of the largest stallions might be enumerated as being pre- 

 disposed to entail this malady on their issue. These are cer- 

 tainly valid reasons for not giving a preference to horses of 

 large size, although public opinion predominates in their 

 favor. Stallions are more subject to the complaint than geld- 

 ings, and geldings more so than mares. Compactly- formed 

 horses of moderate size seldom indulge their owners with 

 music. It is very difficult to assign any reason for this; but 

 it appears that there is a greater constitutional disposition 

 in stallions to inflammation about the respiritory organs 

 than there is in mares or geldings, and that inflammation, re- 

 sulting in deposits of lymph and ossification of the cartilages, 

 produces the disorder. This phenomenon may be explained 

 in consequence of the sympathy which is well known to exist 

 between various parts of the body. 



A change in the atmosphere is a very frequent cause of 

 inflammation in the respiratory organs, and severe frosts are 

 very likely to produce it. In order to preserve the blooming 

 condition of our horses' coats, it is a common practice with 

 grooms to keep the stables as warm as possible when a frost 

 sets in; but it is a most dangerous observance. Of the im- 

 portance of keeping horses warm in their bodies, there can- 

 not be a question; but that is better regulated by extra 



