nia (nux vomica) on the
ground that it is a nerve tonic with the view of stimulating the
affected muscles is treating only the result of the disease without
considering the cause, and is therefore useless. The operation of
extirpating the collapsed cartilage and vocal cord is believed to be the
only relief, and, as this operation is critical and can be performed
only by the skillful veterinarian, it will not be described here.

From the foregoing description of the disease it will be seen that the
name "roaring," by which the disease is generally known, is only a
symptom and not the disease. Chronic roaring is also in many cases
accompanied with a cough. The best way to test whether a horse is a
"roarer" is either to make him pull a load rapidly up a hill or over a
sandy road or soft ground; or, if he is a saddle horse, gallop him up a
hill or over soft ground. The object is to make him exert himself. Some
horses require a great deal more exertion than others before the
characteristic sound is emitted. The greater the distance he is forced,
the more he will appear exhausted if he is a roarer; in bad cases the
animal becomes utterly exhausted, the breathing is rapid and difficult,
the nostrils dilate to the fullest extent, and the animal appears as if
suffocation was imminent.

An animal that is a roarer should not be used for breeding purposes. The
taint is transmissible in many instances.

_Grunting._--A common test used by veterinarians when examining "the
wind" of a horse is to see if he is a "grunter." This is a sound emitted
during expiration when the animal is suddenly moved, or startled, or
struck at. If he grunts he is further tested for roaring. Grunters are
not always roarers, but, as it is a common thing for a roarer to grunt,
such an animal must be looked upon with suspicion until he is thoroughly
tried by pulling a load or galloped up a hill. The test should be a
severe one. Horses suffering with pleurisy, pleurodynia, or rheumatism,
and other affections accompanied with much pain, will grunt when moved,
or when the pain is aggravated, but grunting under these circumstances
does not justify the term of "grunter" being applied to the horse, as
the grunting ceases when the animal recovers from the disease that
causes the pain.

_High blowing._--This term is applied to a noisy breathing made by some
horses. It is distinctly a nasal sound, and must not be confounded with
"roaring." The sound is produced by