390 HANDT-BOOK OP HUSBANDRY. 



" much bent at the junction of the os calcis with the astragalus is 

 "not at all liable to curbs. It is the defective condition of the 

 " ligaments there, not the angular junction, which leads to curbs ; 

 "and the breeder should carefully investigate the individual case 

 " before accepting or rejecting a mare with suspicious hocks. Bad 

 *' feet, whether from contraction or from too flat and thin a sole, 

 ** should also be avoided ; but when they have obviously arisen 

 " from bad shoeing, the defect may be passed over. Such are the 

 ** chief varieties of unsoundness in the leg which require circum- 

 " spection ; the good points, which, on the other hand, are to be 

 *' looked for are those considered desirable in all horses that are 

 "subjected to the shocks of the gallop. * * * * Such are 

 *' the general considerations bearing upon soundness of limb. That 

 *' of the wind is no less important. Broken-winded mares seldom 

 "breed, and they are therefore out of the question, if for no other 

 " reason ; but no one would risk the recurrence of this disease, 

 " even if he could get such a mare stinted. Roaring is a much 

 *' vexed question, which is by no means theoretically settled among 

 ** our chief veterinary authorities, nor practically by our breeders. 

 " Every year, however, it becomes more and more frequent and 

 *' important, and the risk of reproduction is too great for any person 

 " willfully to run by breeding from a roarer. As far as I can learn, 

 " it appears to be much more hereditary on the side of the mare 

 ** than on that of the horse ; and not even the offer of a virago 

 " should tempt me to use her as a brood mare. There are so many 

 *' different conditions which produce what is called roaring, that it 

 ** is difficult to form any opinion which shall apply to all cases. In 

 '* some instances, where it has arisen from neglected strangles, or 

 " from a simple inflammation of the larynx, the result of cold, it will 

 *' probably never reappear ; but when the genuine ideopathic roaring 

 " has made its appearance, apparently depending upon a disease of 

 ** the nerves of the larynx, it is ten to one that the produce will 

 *' suffer in the same way. Blindness, again, may or may not be 

 ** hereditary, but in all cases it should be viewed with suspicion as 

 "great as that due to roaring. Simple cataract without inflam- 

 ** mation undoubtedly runs in families ; and when a horse or 



