388 DISEASES OF BKEATHING. 



after passing near to the examiner, say, a couple of times, should 

 be jDulled up sharply, and brought to him, to enable him to apply 

 his ear close to the animal's nostrils, so that he may detect any 

 peculiarity in the breathing, while the horse is " blowing hard." 

 Any roughness of sound during inspiration should be sufficient to 

 at once condemn the horse. I advise riding the animal, because 

 we can note the nature of the respiration much more accurately 

 when riding him than when listening to his breathing as he 

 passes us on foot. Dieckerhoff observes that when testing a horse's 

 wind, it is well to gallop him (in small circles to the left for choice) 

 with his head held high and turned to the left, and his chin drawn 

 in; for in that position the animal will be more likely to manifest 

 his infirmity than in any other way. He remarks that it is im- 

 possible to make a sound horse emit the characteristic noise of 

 roaring by holding his head in any particular position. On this 

 account and by reason of the fact that recurrent laryngeal paralysis 

 is a progressive disease; we should make every practical effort to 

 prove that the horse is incapable of emitting the objectionable 

 sound, the slightest sign of which should be regarded as a proof 

 of unsoundness; and, if he is a saddle horse, we should not rest 

 content without giving him a strong and fairly long gallop, if 

 possible, through heavy ground, or up an ascent. A similar pro- 

 cedure may be adopted with a harness-horse, which should, if prac- 

 ticable, be driven on soft groimd, so that we may hear the noise 

 if it be present. When testing the wind of a heavy cart-horse, we 

 should make him fully exert his powers by moving a big load. If 

 this be not available, we can use a drag, or improvise one by 

 locking the hind wheels of the cai't by means of a stout pole passed 

 between the spokes. 



When we are unable to put the horse to severe exertion, in order 

 to facilitate our task of observing the nature of his breathing, we 

 may " grunt " him by catching him short by the head with one 

 hand, and suddenly threatening to strike him under the belly with 

 a stick or whip ; when, if he is a roarer, he will, in the large 

 majority of cases, grunt. This effect is best produced when the 

 animal, before being threatened, is placed (so that he may not 

 wheel round) alongside a wall, the portion of which reserved for 

 this purpose, at dealers' yards, is sometimes covered with a sheet 

 of india-rubber, so that the horse may not hurt himself by knocking 

 up against the wall. Roarers as a rule are difficult to " cough " by 

 pressing their larynx with the fingers. Hence, after proving that 

 a horse does not grunt, if we find that he coughs readily and in 

 a healthy manner, when we squeeze his larynx between the finger 

 and thumb, we may be fairly confident that his wind is all right. 

 We should bear in mind that " coughing " is not always a reliable 



