8o 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



the next paragraph. When the paralyses 

 is established, we believe no means but 

 the internal use of strychnine are at all 

 likely to be beneficial. 



An alteration in the shape of the car- 

 tilages, so as to permanently change their 

 form, is, we believe, the least common of 

 all the causes of roaring. Pressure for a 

 very long time will be required to effect 

 this, and far more than suffices to paralyze 

 the nerve. Cases, however, are recorded, 

 and the parts have been preserved, so that 

 there can be no doubt of their occasional 

 occurrence. No treatment can be of the 

 slightest service. 



Although roaring, in all its varieties, 

 may be said to be generally incurable, yet 

 it may be greatly palliated by general at- 

 tention to the state of the lungs and 

 stomach, by proper food, and by the use, 

 while the horse is at work, of a special 

 contrivance, of a most ingenious nature, 

 published by a Mr. Reeve, but said to 

 have been in use for many years among 

 the London omnibus and cab men. At 

 all events, Mr. Reeve deserves the credit 

 of having laid the matter before the pro- 

 fession, and of explaining the true princi- 

 ple upon which it acts. He says, in his 

 paper upon the subject: "I thought it 

 possible to so modify the atmostpheric 

 supply to the lungs, that, during exercise, 

 the volume of air when it arrives at the 

 glottis, should not exceed that which pas- 

 sed through its opening when the horse 

 was tranquil, and which (from the fact of 

 the sound being absent) does not at that 

 time produce roaring. A strap was ac- 

 cordingly made to pass around the nose 

 of the horse, just over the region of the 

 false nostrils, and buckle beneath the 

 lower jaw. To the inner surface of this 

 strap, and immediately over the false nos- 

 tril on each side, was fixed a body re- 

 sembling in shape the half of a hen's egg, 

 cut longitudinally. When applied, these 

 bodies pressed upon the triangular spaces 

 formed by the apex of the nasal bones 

 and upper jaw, thus closing the false nos- 

 trils, and partly diminishing the channel 

 of the true ones. The result was highly 

 gratifying; for the patient, which pre- 

 viously could not travel without stopping 

 every minute to take breath, now travel- 

 led, to all appearance, without inconven- 

 ience or noise. At first the strap seemed 

 slightly to annoy the horse; and when- 



ever it became displaced, the roaring 

 would again commence. A slight modi- 

 fication, however, overcame every diffi- 

 culty; the strap instead of being buckled 

 around and under the jaw, was fastened 

 on each side of the bit ; and, to prevent its 

 descent, another was carried from its cen- 

 tre, and fastened to the front of the har- 

 ness-bridle." Mr. Reeve asserts that the 

 effect was all he could have wished, and 

 that the horse on which he had tried the 

 plan, " which previously had been entire- 

 ly useless, now performs his work in a 

 heavy brougham, and gives great satisfac- 

 tion. The roaring is stopped, and, with 

 the usual speed, there appears no impedi- 

 ment to respiration." He concludes : " I 

 have paid particular attention to this case, 

 and am inclined to think, that when by 

 the compression we have neutralized the 

 action of" the false nostrils, the object is 

 effected without the necessity of further 

 narrowing the nasal passage." 



Few people would care to drive a roarer, 

 if they could help it, even with the aid 

 of the nasal compress; but if necessity 

 compels such a proceeding, it is well to 

 know how the poor animal may be used 

 with least annoyance to himself and his 

 master. 



Highblowing is a perfectly healthy 

 and natural habit, and cannot be con- 

 founded with roaring by any experienced 

 horseman. It is solely confined to the 

 nostrils ; and the noise is not produced in 

 the slightest degree during inspiration, 

 but solely during the expulsion of the air, 

 which is more forcible and rapid than us- 

 ual, and accompanied by a vibratory 

 movement of the nostrils, which is the 

 seat of the noise. Roaring, on the con- 

 trary, continues during inspiration as well 

 as expiration; and by this simple test the 

 two may readily be distinguished. Most 

 highblowers have particular good wind, 

 of which the celebrated Eclipse is an ex- 

 ample; for there is no doubt that he was 

 addicted to the habit. 



Whistling (and piping, which is very 

 similar to it) are produced by the same 

 causes as roaring, in an exaggerated con- 

 dition. Thus a roarer often becomes a 

 whistler as the rima glottidis is more and 

 more closed by disease; on the other 

 hand, the whistler is never converted into 

 a roarer. The noise made is seldom a 

 decidedly shrill whistle, but it has more 



