A HORSE IN THE ACT OF QUIDDING.
So soon as the case is observed, change the stable: the horse will do far better in the open air than in the foul atmosphere which originated and must aggravate the disorder. Rain, snow, or frost are more wholesome than the polluted warmth man's most humble slave is too often doomed to inhale. The roofs of many stables are terribly low; in no building of this kind is the covering too high. The welfare of the horse seems always sacrified to the imaginary interests of its master. Thus, above the stable is built a loft for the hay and a residence for the groom. To save expense, the building is raised as small a distance from the ground as possible. The height of modern buildings would be by no means extravagant, were an entire stable of ordinary dimensions left free for a single quadruped to breathe in. A puerile parsimony, however, denies the huge lungs of the animal the only food life cannot do without, for even a short space. Disease and death consequently soon waste treble the money ample accommodation would not have consumed. Ignorance is the most expensive quality a proprietor of horse-flesh can indulge; for nature invariably refuses to be made subject to man's convenience.
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 passengers; 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 accompanied 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 have to do all this, while their bodies are distorted by the bearing-rein; the balance of their frames being violently made to conform to the capricious notions of modern fashion. For the illustration of this subject, an animal, with a head rather well put on, has been chosen. The engraving represents a horse undergoing the torture of the bearing-rein. The next illustration exhibits the horse carrying its head as it would, were it free to exercise a choice. The reader is not asked which delineation looks the best. Any appeal to his taste is forborne, because the generality of eyes are perverted by the dictates of custom.
