ROARING. 387 



are all right, to state he is sound in wind, and to forbid his being 

 tested for it, than to subject him to the annoyance and ill effects 

 of being grunted and coughed by every passing idler. 



" We are able to recsognise the wasting of the muscles by feeling the 

 larynx of the roarer with the fingers ; fox the left arytenoid allows itself to 

 be pushed back more easily and more deeply down than its fellow. This 

 procedure sometimes sets up roaring while the animal is at rest " 

 (Friedberger and Frohner). 



ROARERS AS STUD ANIMALS.— Owing to the strong influence 

 of hereditary predisposition in this complaint, a mare or stallion 

 that is affected by roaring, should on no account be used for stud 

 purposes in Great Britain, or in any other country in which the 

 climate is at all favourable to its development. I have already 

 pointed out that there is no objection to breeding from roarers in 

 countries like India, South Africa, and South America, the respec- 

 tive climates of which are antagonistic to its propagation. Fleming 

 states that the hereditary influence of a roaring stallion in con- 

 ferring this disease on his offspring usually increases with age. 



TREATMENT.— Acting on the idea of the bad effect which the 

 continued practice of feeding horses from raised mangers has on 

 the muscles of the neck, and taking into consideration the remarjis 

 already made on the influence of food in the production of this 

 disease, I would advise that on the first symptoms of roaring being 

 perceived, the animal, supposing that he was otherwise in good 

 health, should be turned out to graze during the day ; or be given 

 grass or other green meat instead of hay and chaff, and be fed on 

 a level with the ground and not from a raised manger. He should 

 be kept warm by clothing, and should have the freest possible 

 ventilation in his stall. Roarers might be improved a stone if 

 they were trained from an open shed, sheltered from wet and rain, 

 keeping them warmly clothed and always in the open air. I have 

 seen good results from giving a roarer a daily allowance of linseed, 

 say, one pound, or 4 oz. of linseed oil. The linseed may be in the 

 form of linseed meal, mixed through the food, of linseed tea, or 

 of linseed mash. 



The only medical treatment which appears to be of any benefit 

 is the administration of iodide of potassium (^ oz. a day in the 

 food or water). It is useful only in the early stages of this 

 malady ; because it is powerless to restore lost muscular tissue. 

 Friedberger and Frohner recommend a course of hypodermic injec- 

 tions, near the larynx, of about a grain of strychnine once a day 

 for three days at a time, with an interval of one day. Electricity 



25* 



