ROARING. 43 



pace_, or even but trots, although he be a roarer, no roaring, 

 probably, is heard — no person would discover his imperfec- 

 tion : gallop him, however, and particularly up hill, and 

 press him hard, and, as the dealers say, " you may hear him 

 in the next parish/^ Heavy draft in harness, and that too 

 up hill, is probably the severest trial you can put the roarer 

 to. In general, any sudden act of exertion, such as a leap or 

 jump, or gambol of any sort will produce it. Even fright, 

 or sudden alarm of any kind, will elicit the noise. In fine, 

 whatever induces a sudden aud vehement sigh will be apt to 

 make the roarer disclose his imperfection. 



Is IT A SOUND OF INSPIRATION OR EXPIRATION, OR OF 



BOTH ? — Ordinarily, it is only in inspiration that the sound 

 is heard. Under circumstances of great distress, however, as 

 when a horse is galloped to bursting, and especially should 

 it happen that he be one of the worst class of roarers, the 

 sound is audible enough in expiration as well as inspiration. 

 The TESTS of roaring suggest themselves from a know- 

 ledge of the fact, that a horse must be made to breathe with 

 a sudden efi'ort, or else experience a degree of labour and 

 difficulty in drawing his breath, before the sound can be 

 elicited. For the purpose of producing this sudden respira- 

 tory effort, our common practice is to make a feint or threat 

 to strike the animal ; which indeed rarely fails (should he have 

 the disorder) to call forth, involuntarily, the roar or charac- 

 teristic grunt, and so confirm our worst suspicions. Should 

 the animal not be a roarer, the alarm we create occasions no 

 sound whatever in the breath. Next, we cough the horse : 

 the protracted grunting or groaning of the cough being to 

 an experienced ear equally characteristic, may, iu conjunc- 

 tion with the former test, be received as pretty satisfactory. 

 I regret, however, to be compelled to add, that the absence 

 of these summary tests will not, in all cases, bear us out in 

 pronouncing the horse not to be a roarer. In a case of this 

 kind, my common observation to the gentleman whose horse 

 I may be examining, is, " I do not find your horse roars 

 either on being struck or coughed ; but you must not take 

 this remark as a certificate that he is ' perfectly sound' in 



