338 THE HORSE. 



He concludes : " I have paid particular attention to this case, and 

 am inclined to think, that when by the compression we have neu- 

 tralized the action of the false nostrils, the object is effected with- 

 out the necessity of further narrowing the nasal passage." 



Few people would care to drive a roarer, if they could help it, 

 even with the aid of the nasal compress ; but if necessity compels 

 such a proceeding, it is well to know how the poor animal may be 

 used with least annoyance to himself and his master. 



Highblowing is a perfectly healthy and natural habit, and 

 cannot be confounded with roaring by any experienced horseman. 

 It is solely confined to the nostrils; and the noise is not produced 

 in the slightest degree during inspiration, but solely during the 

 expulsion of the air, which is more forcible and rapid than usual, 

 and accompanied by a vibratory movement of the nostrils, which 

 is the seat of the noise. Roaring, on the contrary, continues dur- 

 ing inspiration, as well as expiration ; and by this simple test the 

 two may readily be distinguished. Most highblowers have par- 

 ticularly good wind, of which the celebrated Eclipse is an exam- 

 ple ; for there is no doubt that he was addicted to the habit. 



Whistling (and piping, which is very similar to it), are pro- 

 duced by the same causes as roaring, in an exaggerated condition. 

 Thus, a roarer often becomes a whistler as the rima glottidis is 

 more and more closed by disease ; on the other hand, the whistler 

 is never converted into a roarer. The noise made is seldom a 

 decidedly shrill whistle, but it has more resemblance to that sound 

 than to roaring, and the name may well be retained as descriptive 

 of it. Whistlers are always in such a state of confirmed disease, 

 that treatment is out of the question — indeed, they can only be 

 put to the very slowest kind of work. 



Wheezing is indicative of a contracted condition of the bron- 

 chial tubes, which is sometimes of a spasmodic nature, and at 

 others is only brought on during occasional attacks after exposure 

 to cold. The treatment should be that recommended for chronic 

 bronchitis, which is the nature of the disease producing these 

 symptoms. 



Trumpeting is not very well defined by veterinary writers, and 

 I confess that I have never heard any horse make a noise which 

 could be compared to the trumpet, or to the note of the elephant 

 so called. 



The question relating to the hereditary nature of roar- 

 ing is one which demands the most careful examination before a 

 reliable answer can be given to it. It would be necessary to select 

 at random a number of roaring sires and dams, and compare their 

 stock with that of an equal proportion of sound animals, wdiich 

 would be a Herculean task, beyond the power of any private indi- 

 vidual. Nothing short of this could possibly settle the dispute; 



