NOTES ON DENTISTRY. 533 



26. The above courae having been completed, then try the horse's 

 wind, and see if he is a grunter or thick in the wind, or whistler, or 

 roarer, par. 454 469. For these give him a thorough good bustling, 

 at a fast pace if a horse in work, or lounge him if unbroken or a stallion. 



27. Next have the fore-shoes taken off and carefully examine the feet 

 for corns, false quarter, sandcrack, seedy thrush, pumice sole, bad frogs, 

 etc., Chapter 65, Diseases of the Foot, and Chapter 62, on Conformation 

 of the Foot ; and then have them replaced. 



28. After this (the horse having been galloped), allow time enough 

 for him to cool down, and then give him a final trot in the manner de- 

 scribed in No. 5, and note whether he moves freely and level. 



29. Lastly let the horse be pressed backward, " backed " to see whether 

 he can do that well ; and then let him be turned short and quickly round 

 both ways to see that he is not chinked in the back or paralysed, par. 

 569. 



1064. If with these directions, " Where to look for defects," you miss 

 seeing anything wrong, it will not be because you did not look for it, 

 but because you failed to see or feel it when you were looking or feeling 

 for it. 



CHAPTER 71. 

 NOTES ON DENTISTRY. 



By Lieut. -Colonel MATTHEWS, Royal Horse Guards. 

 1065. Development of the Teeth Birth to five years old. 



The science of equine dentistry has been of late prominently brought 

 before the minds of owners of thoroughbred stock by the mishaps of 

 Friar's Balsam and Orme on the eve of valuable engagements. 



Throughout the period of racing life, i. e. from two to five years old, 

 dentition is actively progressing with its attendant irritability of 

 temper on account of the often acutely painful condition of the mem- 

 brane of the mouth accompanying the development of the teeth. 



In the human subject, the by no means distant prototype of the 

 horse, the child is thought fortunate if he pulls through this period, 

 though no attempt is made to force muscular development. It is always 

 a period attended with querulousness and a strong predisposition to 

 febrile disease and derangement of the bowels, the follicular structure 

 of which is undergoing similar and extremely sympathetic development. 



During the earlier years of the horse, soft food, such as grass, is more 

 natural and less irritating to the membrane and gums, which are being 



