ROARING. 271 



noticed by the late Joliu Field, wlio, in tlie course of some experiments, 

 having divided the left recurrent nerve, the horse immediately became a 

 roarer, and continued so to the day of his death. 



It has required the experience of years, however, to prove that this, 

 which might have been considered a merely curious comcidence, is abso- 

 lutely an universally-recognised cause of this disease — the other causes 

 ah-eady enumerated may occasionally produce the same result, but in tho 

 l)reseut day they will be received as mere exceptions to a very general rule. 



Facts have established the hereditary predisposition to roaring, beyond 

 the possibihty of doubt. 



In France it is notorious that three-fourths of the horses from Cottentin 

 are roarers and some of them are roarers at six months old ; but about 

 La Hague and Le Bocase, not a roarer is kno's\ni. There is certaiidy a 

 considerable difference in the soil of the two districts ; the first is low and 

 marshy, the latter elevated and dry : but tradition traces it to the intro- 

 duction of some foreign horses into Cottentin, who bequeathed this 

 infirmity to their progeny. 



In our ovm country, there is as decisive a proof. There was a valuable 

 fitalhon in Norfolk, belonging to Major Wilson, of Didlington. He was 

 a great favourite, and seemed to be getting some excellent stock ; but he 

 was a roarer, and some of the breeders took alarm at this .They had occa- 

 sionally too painful experience of the communication of the defects of the 

 parent to his progeny ; and they feared that roaring might possibly be 

 among these hereditary evils. Sir Charles Bunbury was requested to 

 obtain Mr. Cline's opinion on the subject, Mr. Cline was a deservedly 

 eminent human surgeon : he had exerted himself in the establishment of 

 the Veterinary College : he was an examiner of veterinary pupils, and 

 therefore it was supposed that he must be competent to give an opinion. 

 He gave one, and at considerable length : — ' The disorder in the horse,' 

 said he, ' which constitutes a roarer, is caused by a membranous projec- 

 tion in a part of the windpipe, and is the consequence of that part having 

 been inflamed from a cold, and injudiciously treated. A roarer, therefore, 

 is not a diseased horse, for his lungs and every other part may be perfectly 

 sound. The existence of roaring in a stalhon cannot be of any conse- 

 quence. It cannot be propagated any more than a broken bone, or an}" 

 other accident.' — A fair specimen of the horse-knowledge of one of the 

 best of the medical examiners of veterinary pupils. 



Sir Charles returned full of glee ; the good people of Norfolk and 

 Suffolk were satisfied; Major Wilson's horse was in high request : but in a 

 few years a great part of the two cou.nties was overrun with roarers, and 

 many a breeder half ruined. Roaring is not, however, necessarily heredi- 

 tary. Mr. Goodwin, whose name is great authority, states that Taurus, a 

 celebrated racer that had become a roarer, had covered several mares, and 

 their 23roduce all turned out well, and had won several races. In no instance 

 did his progeny exhibit this defect, notwathstanding that his own family 

 were notorious for being roarers. Eclipse also is said to have been a roarer. 



Wbat then is to be done mth these animals ? Abandon them to their 

 fate ? No, not so ; but there is no necessity rashly to undertake a hopeless 

 aflair. All possible knowledge must be obtained of the origin of the 

 disease. Did it follow strangles, catarrh, bronchitis, or any affection of 

 the respiratory passages ? Is it of long standing ? Is it now accom- 

 panied by cough or any s}Tnptoms of local or general ii'ritation ? Can any 

 disorganisation of these parts be detected ? An}" distortion of the lar}Tix ? 

 Did it follow breaking-in to harness ? The answer to these questions will 

 materially guide any futare proceedings. 



If tliere is plain distortion of the larynx or trachea, or the diseriee 



