ROARING. 337 



is established, I believe no means but the internal use of strych 

 nine are at all likely to be beneficial. 



An alteration in the shape of the cartilages, so as to permanently 

 change their form, is, I believe, the least common of all the causes 

 of roaring. Pressure for a very long time will be required to 

 e/fcct this, and far more than suffices to paralyze the nerve. Cases, 

 however, are recorded, and the parts have been preserved, so that 

 there can be no doubt of their occasional occurrence. No treat- 

 ment can be of the slightest service. 



Although roaring, in all its varieties, may be said to be generally 

 incurable, yet it may be greatly palliated by general attention to 

 the state of the lungs and stomach, by proper food, and by the 

 use, while the horse is at work, of a special contrivance, of a 

 most ingenious nature, published by Mr. Reeve, of Gamberwell, 

 in the Veterinarian for 1858, but said to have been in use for 

 many years among the London omnibus and cab men. At all 

 events, Mr. Reeve deserves the credit of having laid the matter 

 before the profession, and of explaining the true principle upon 

 which it acts. He says, in his paper on the subject : " I thought 

 it possible to so modify the atmospheric supply to the lungs, that, 

 during exercise, the volume of air, when it arrived at the glottis, 

 should not exceed that which passed through its opening when the 

 horse was tranquil, and which (from the fact of the sound being 

 absent) does not at that time produce roaring. A strap was accord- 

 ingly made to pass around the nose of the horse, just over the 

 region of the false nostrils, and buckle beneath the lower jaw. 

 To the inner surface of this strap, and immediately over the false 

 nostril on each side, was fixed a body resembling in shape the half 

 of a hen's egg, cut longitudinally. When applied, these bodies 

 pressed upon the triangular spaces formed by the apex of the nasal 

 bones and upper jaw, thus closing the false nostrils, and partly 

 diminishing the channel of the true ones. The result was highly 

 gratifying ; for the patient, which previously could not travel with- 

 out stopping every minute to take breath, now travelled, to all 

 appearance, without inconvenience or noise. At first, the strap 

 seemed slightly to annoy the horse ; and whenever it became dis- 

 placed, the roaring would again commence. A slight modification, 

 however, overcame every difficulty : the strap, instead of being 

 buckled around and under the jaw, was fastened on each side of 

 the bit ; and, to prevent its descent, another was carried from its 

 centre, and fastened to the front of the harness-bridle." Mr 

 Reeve asserts that the effect was all he could have wished, and 

 that the horse on which he tried the plan, " which previously had 

 been entirely useless, now performs his work in a heavy brougham, 

 and gives great satisfaction. The roaring is stopped, and, with 

 the usual speed, there appears no impediment to respiration '' 



22 



