106 ROARING. 
ROARING. 
A horse is said to roar when, during progression, he emits any unnatural 
sound. The noise is not exactly of the same intensity in any two animals. 
Some creatures roar so loud as to attract attention from the foot pas- 
sengers; others have so trivial a defect in this particular, that it can 
only be detected after a breathing gallop. In all, however, it materially 
lessens the value. 
It is usual to cough horses suspected of being roarers; this, however, 
is wrong. The constant pinching of the larynx may induce the affection. 
The cough of a confirmed roarer, however, is peculiar. It consist of a 
double effort; a spasmodic expulsion of the air, followed by a deep and 
audible inspiration. 
The best mode of detecting a roarer, where exercise is forbidden 
or impossible, is to get a stick and to quietly approach the suspected 
animal. Having reached the head, take a short hold of the halter, and 
all at once display the weapon, at the same time making a pretense as 
though about to use it violently upon the abdomen. The horse in alarm 
will run toward the manger, and, if a roarer, the action will be accom- 
panied by an audible grunt. This proof, taken with the refusal to allow 
the horse to be tried, is generally conclusive; though by itself the test 
is by no means satisfactory. Many horses that are not roarers will 
sometimes grunt under the emotion of fear. 
Of roaring there are two kinds, acute and chronic. Acute roaring 
is that which is merely symptomatic of a disease. It may be produced 
by the tumor of strangles compressing the larynx; by the impediment, 
in choking, being situated so high up as to interfere with the breathing ; 
and by many other causes. In these cases remove the excitant, and the 
effect will immediately cease. Acute roaring is, therefore, a very trivial 
affair, excepting so far as it indicates the severity of the complaint, 
which generates the affection. 
Chronic roaring is a very different business. This mostly results from 
the abuse to which a generous animal is subject, during the early period 
of its domestication. A carriage horse may be serviceable, and even 
dashing, when the twentieth year has passed; but the vast majority of 
these animals perish before maturity is reached. A handsome pair of 
Cleveland bays pull some fashionable lady round the park, before their 
bones are formed or the teeth perfected. The animals have also to take 
their mistress the circle of morning calls, and to be smartly stopped short 
at the door of every house she visits, while their sinews are still soft and 
yielding. They have to “go faster,” when their mistress is in a hurry, 
and have to wait her pleasure when she is disposed to linger. They 
