79 



REMARKS. 



As the teeth of horses grow very differently, 

 and the marks are retained much longer in 

 some than in others, it requires a little careful 

 inspection of a few different mouths to enable 

 you to decide at all correctly. The common 

 rule of concluding that a horse is six, when the 

 marks in the two front horse nippers in the 

 lower jaw are worn out ; that he is seven, when 

 the marks in the two middle horse nippers in 

 the lower jaw are worn out; that he is eight, 

 when the marks in the two corner horse nip- 

 pers in the lower jaw are worn out, will occa- 

 sionally deceive you, if taken solely as a guide ; 

 for a horse that is always fed on dry grain and 

 dry grass, wears out the marks quicker than 

 one that is always fed on soft grain and green 

 grass. The groove in the inside of the tushes 

 that gradually fills up as he advances in years, 

 varies so much in different horses, that it is no 

 better a guide ; for in some colts they come 

 before three and a half years old, and in others 

 not till after four and a half: in some horses 

 they are very little blunted at the points at 

 twelve, and in others they are blunted at eight. 

 The length of the teeth is no surer a test, for 



