OWNERSHIP OF ANIMALS 243 
a vice; but where it is associated with some phys- 
ical defect that defect may be an unsoundness, 
either caused by, or causing, the habit.® 
Although it is customary to castrate mule colts, 
the absence of castration will not be considered 
unsoundness,*® though it might be considered as 
a deficiency, just as an unbroken colt is deficient 
as compared with one which has been trained for 
driving. Similarly, though pregnancy may inter- 
fere with a mare’s usefulness for many purposes, 
it is not an unsoundness.** Roaring may be a 
habit. It is not unsoundness, but it may be an 
evidence of unsoundness, when caused by disease 
or organic defect.“2 The distinction between 
symptom and the disease is not sufficiently recog- 
nized by many judges. A cough is a symptom or 
evidence of unsoundness, not unsoundness itself. 
Lameness is not unsoundness, but the evidence of 
a defect which is unsoundness. While in most 
cases this distinction may not be essential, in such 
cases as cribbing, or roaring, the distinction is 
essential. The older writers made no distinction 
between roaring and whistling. In practice today 
a distinction is made, and according to present 
knowledge roaring is always a symptom of a 
physical defect—a paralysis of the vocal cord. 
The symptom may be removed by excision of the 
defective cord; but though the animal may be 
39 Washburn v. Cuddihy, 8 41 Whitney v. Taylor, 54 
Gray 430; Walker v. Hoising- Barb. 536. 
ton, 43 Vt. 608; Hunt v. Gray, 42 Bassett v. Collis, 2 Camp. 
35 N. J. L. 227. 523. 
40 Duckworth v. Walker, 46 
N.C. 507. 
