OWNERSHIP OF ANIMALS 243 



a vice; but where it is associated with some phys- 

 ical defect that defect may be an unsoundness, 

 either caused by, or causing, the habit.^^ 



Although it is customaiy to castrate mule colts, 

 the absence of castration will not be considered 

 unsoundness,^'^ though it might be considered as 

 a deficiency, just as an unbroken colt is deficient 

 as compared with one which has been trained for 

 driving. Similarly, though pregnancy may inter- 

 fere with a mare's usefulness for many purposes, 

 it is not an unsoundness.^^ Roaring may be a 

 habit. It is not unsoundness, but it may be an 

 evidence of unsoundness, when caused by disease 

 or organic defect.^^ The distinction between 

 symptom and the disease is not sufficiently recog- 

 nized by many judges. A cough is a symptom or 

 evidence of unsoundness, not unsoundness itself. 

 Lameness is not unsoundness, but the evidence of 

 a defect which is unsoundness. "While in most 

 cases this distinction may not be essential, in such 

 cases as cribbing, or roaring, the distinction is 

 essential. The older writers made no distinction 

 between roaring and whistling. In practice today 

 a distinction is made, and according to present 

 knowledge roaring is always a symiDtom of a 

 physical defect — a paralysis of the vocal cord. 

 The symptom may be removed by excision of the 

 defective cord; but though the animal may be 



39 Washburn v. Ciuldihy, 8 *i "Whitney v. Taylor, 54 



C4ray 430; Walker v. Hoising- Barb. 536. 



ton, 43 Vt. 608 ; Hunt v. Gray, 42 Bassett v, Collis, 2 Camp. 



35 N. J. L. 227. 523. 



•*o Duckworth v. Walker, 46 

 X. C. 507. 



