105 



From the foregoing description of the disease it A\dll be seen tliat 

 the name "roaring," by which the disease is generally known, is only 

 a symptom and not the disease. Chronic roaring is also in many cases 

 accomj)anied by a cough. The best way to test Avhether a horse is a 

 " roarer " is to either make him pull a load rapidly up a hill or over 

 a sandy road or soft ground; or if he is a saddle horse gallop him up 

 a hill. The object is to make him exert himself. Some horses 

 require a great deal more exertion than others before the characteris- 

 tic sound is emitted. The greater the distance he is forced the more 

 he will appear exhausted if he is a roarer; in bad cases the animal 

 becomes utterly exhausted, the breathing is rapid and difficult, the 

 nostrils dilate to the fullest extent, and the animal ajjpears as if 

 suffocation is imminent. 



An animal that is a roarer should not be used for breeding purposes, 

 no matter how valuable the stock. The taint is transmissible in many 

 instances, and there is not the least doubt in the minds of those Avho 

 know best that the offsj^ring whose sire or dam is a roarer is born with 

 an hereditary predisposition to the affection. 



Grunting. — A common test used by veterinarians when examining 

 "the wind" of a horse is to see if he is a "grunter." This is a sound 

 emitted during expiration when the animal is suddenly moved, or 

 startled, or struck at. If he grunts he is further tested for roaring. 

 Grunter s are not always roarers, but as it is a common thing for a 

 roarer to grunt such an animal must be looked upon with suspicion 

 until he is thoroughly tried by pulling a load or galloped up a hill. 

 The test should be a severe one. Horses suffering with pleurisy, i)leu- 

 rodynia, or rheumatism, and other affections accompanied vnXh much 

 pain, will grunt when moved, or when the pain is aggravated, but 

 grunting under these circumstances does not justifj^ the term of 

 "grunter" being applied to the horse, as the grunting ceases when the 

 animal recovers from the disease that causes the i)ain. 



I-Ii(jli hlowing. — This term is applied to a noisy breathing made by 

 some horses. It is distinctlj^ a nasal sound, and must not be con- 

 founded Avith ' ' roaring. " The sound is produced by the action of the 

 nostrils. It is a habit and not an unsoundness. Contrary to roaring, 

 when tlie animal is put to severe exertion the sound ceases. An ani- 

 mal that emits this sound is called a "high-blower." Some horses 

 have, naturally, very narrow nasal openings, and they may emit 

 sounds louder than usual in their breathing when exercised. 



TlliisUifig is only one of the variations of the sound emitted by a 

 horse called a ' ' roarer, " and therefore needs no further notice, except 

 to remind the reader that a whistling sound may be produced during 

 an attack of severe sore throat or inflammation of the larynx, which 

 passes away with the disease that causes it. 



Thick tuind. — This is another superfluous term applied to a symp- 

 tom. The great majority of horses called " thick- winded " belong 

 5961— HOR 4* 



