HORSES: THEIR POINTS AND MANAGEMENT 



THE AGE OF HORSES. 



It is necessary to be able to form an idea as to a 

 horse's age, when purchasing one. Up to two years the 

 whole of the incisor or nipping teeth are temporary or sucking 

 ones. Soon after two years and three months the central pair 

 are replaced by a pair of permanent ones, and by the time that 

 the animal is three years, these teeth are well developed, and 

 easily distinguished from the sucking teeth on either sides of 

 them. The same change takes place in the " lateral " teeth 

 about three years and three months, and at four years these 

 lateral permanent teeth are on a level with the central ones. At 

 four years and a quarter there is a repetition of this process in 

 the " corner " teeth, so that at five years of age the animal has 

 a full set of permanent incisor teeth. It is usual to refer to the 

 lower row when looking at their cutting tables, surfaces for 

 changes undergone by wear. 



From li\'e years upwards — though without much reliance 

 after eight years — the tables of the teeth are referred to for the 

 purpose of estimating the age. The crowns of the teeth are 

 covered by a dense substance called enamel, and as this sur- 

 rounds the exposed portion of the tooth, it is spoken of as the 

 outer enamel ring. There is another smaller one in the centre. 

 This is the inner enamel ring, and circumscribes a central cavity 

 known as the " mark " or " infundibulum." This mark, the 

 inner and the outer enamel rings, all alter in shape as the animal 

 advances in years. 



A Five Year Old. — It is very easy to tell, the whole of 

 the incisor teeth being on a level, the only signs of wear being 

 limited to the central and lateral teeth, the mark extending 



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