AGE 



The two middle teeth appear at two weeks old, the next pair 

 at eight weeks, and the two outside ones at eight months. 

 At about two and a half years old the two middle teeth are 

 shed, at about three and a half years the centre two, and at 

 about four and a half the outside ones, the horse thus getting 

 his "full mouth" developed at the age of five years. Of 

 course the process of shedding these teeth is a gradual one, 

 and until they have been shed, the permanent ones cannot 

 appear, still less develop. It must, therefore, be understood 

 that the changes take place about the periods when the 

 horse arrives at the ages stated, as it would be absurd to 

 imagine that as soon as he becomes a two-year-old the centre 

 milk teeth are shed, or that the permanent ones forthwith 

 assume their full size. It may be added that the first set 

 of teeth are perfectly smooth in front, but ridged in their 

 insides and very white, whereas the later ones show grooves 

 on their surface and are of a more yellow colour. It is 

 necessary to allude to this fact in order to distinguish 

 between a two-year-old mouth of milk teeth and a full five- 

 year-old mouth of permanent ones. The shallow grooves 

 alluded to are on the front of the teeth, not on the tops, and 

 can therefore be seen when the mouth is closed if the lips 

 are held apart by the fingers. When he reaches the age of 

 six the black marks in the upper surface of the two middle 

 teeth will begin to fade away through rubbing against the 

 upper ones, the marks on the next pair disappearing at seven 

 years, and those on the outside or corner ones at eight years. 

 At nine the marks on the middle pair on the upper jaw 

 become lost, those on the centre pair following at ten, and 

 on the corner ones at eleven. It may be added that as 

 a horse becomes older his teeth grow longer and develop a 

 tendency to acquire a three-cornered shape. Experience is, of 

 course, necessary to estimate the age of an animal accurately, 

 but the above rules may be relied upon as accurate, though 

 occasionally, but rarely, a strangely abnormal mouth may 

 be found. It must be remembered, too, that unprincipled 

 persons are in the habit of tampering with the teeth of horses 



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