208 THE TEETH AS INDICATORS OF AGE. 



the belief is well founded, for perhaps no development 

 is more regular than the teeth of the horse, and no 

 natural process so little exposed to the distortions of 

 artifice. We are, nevertheless, not to expect that the 

 animal carries in its mouth a certificate of birth, writ- 

 ten in characters so deep that they cannot be obliter- 

 ated or misinterpreted. He who would judge of the 

 age by the teeth must study them, and be prepared to 

 encounter difficulties. In proportion as he has done 

 the one, and is enabled thereby to overcome the other, 

 will be his success. The qualified judge alone will 

 read the teeth correctly. He will make allowance 

 where certain marks are indistinct or absent, and he 

 will be cautious in pronouncing an opinion. The vet- 

 erinary practitioner knows that the teeth are worthy 

 of attention, and he feels that their indications, scien- 

 tifically interpreted, will seldom mislead." 



Surgeon J. H. Walsh, in his excellent work, " The 

 Horse ; in the Stable and in the Field," says : 



"In order to be able to estimate the age of the horse 

 by his teeth, it is necessary to ascertain, as nearly as 

 may be, the exact time at which he puts up his milk 

 teeth, and also the periods at which they were replaced 

 by the permanent. Finally it becomes the province 

 of the veterinarian to lay down rules for ascertaining 

 the age from the degree of attrition which the perma- 

 nent teeth have undergone. For these several purposes 

 the horse's mouth must be studied from the earliest 

 period of his life up to old age." 



Judging the age by the teeth is even more compli- 

 cated and difficult than is shown by the foregoing ex- 

 tracts. Among other complications worthy of consid- 

 eration are the following: 



