THE POINTS OF THE HORSE 



147 



sion pleasant, the disposition will probably be good. A 

 small, sunken eye indicates a bad temper. Ears that are 

 carried erect or that point forward rather than backward 

 show a good temper. If the ears lop about, there is evidence 

 of laziness. 



The height of the horse is usually expressed in "hands," 

 a hand being equal to 4 inches. The height is measured in 

 a vertical line from the ground to the top of the withers. 

 A horse 16 hands high would stand 64 inches from the ground. 

 The weight of the horse, in a degree, indicates to what 

 class he belongs. A mature horse weighing 2000 pounds 

 would naturally be a heavy 

 draft animal. If weighing 1000 

 pounds, it might be one of sev- 

 eral types. In Europe, the 

 height of the horse rather than 

 his weight is looked upon as of 

 the most importance. 



The age of the horse is esti- 

 mated by an examination of 

 the teeth. It requires some ex- 

 perience to be quick in recognizing the age, which may be 

 determined with fair accuracy up to eight years, after 



which it becomes a matter of 

 guess work. The following items 

 are the important guides to age. 

 The colt's teeth. Seven or 

 eight days after birth, two in- 

 cisor teeth appear at the front 

 and middle of both upper and 

 lower jaws. In the course of 

 five or six weeks, two more teeth appear in each jaw, one 

 tooth coming in on either side of the two already present. 



Fig. 73. Age of the horse as 

 shown by the teeth. 1^ years 

 old. Figs. 73-80 reproduced from 

 " Beurtheilungslehre des Pferdea," 

 1859. 



Fig. 74. 2^3 years of age. 



