THE "SCREW." 



WHAT is a " screw ? " is a question easier to ask than to 

 answer -, at all events, few people agree in the definition 

 of one. Properly the term would seem to apply to an 

 unsound horse one which cannot pass the examination 

 of a qualified veterinary surgeon, though these gentlemen 

 are not by any means infallible, as most owners of horses 

 know to their cost. Some would term any blemished or 

 aged horse a " screw ;" others again, mostly gentlemen 

 in the first bloom of youth, consider and call every horse 

 which is not a long-priced one, whatever his qualities 

 may be, by this unflattering appellation. On the other 

 hand, all men of any stable experience must be able to 

 call to mind horses of the most expensive price which have 

 been nothing more nor less than screws, and yet have 

 been favourites and highly valued even by masters who 

 are good judges. 



There are, however, many forms of unsoundness which 

 do not make a horse a whit the less valuable for certain 

 purposes, while they would incapacitate him entirely from 

 the performance of other duties. For example, a roarer 

 or whistler would be of no use to a hard-riding man as a 

 hunter ; but for moderate harness work, unless the noise 

 is so great as to be audible above that of the wheels, a 

 roarer is frequently as useful as a sound horse, does his 

 work as well as one, and will probably give his master as 

 much satisfaction as a sound one, until lie wants to sell 

 Mm. Then he will find a difference between the two. 



