PRINCIPLES FOR DETERMINING THE AGE OF THE HORSE. 49 



temples and around the eyes and the nostrils, if the color of the 

 animals is dark ; gray and roan horses become very much lighter 

 in color, and even at times nearly white ; the inferior extremity 

 of the head becomes pointed, and the sides of the face become 

 depressed ; there is an evident change in the line of the back and 

 loins, which become depressed (sway-backed). The aplomb of 

 the legs and the blemishes found on them are common 

 witnesses of work which has lasted for a number of years. 



In addition to the examination of the teeth, which is 

 frequently considered the only point that need be looked at to 

 determine age, there are many other points which are of very 

 great value. 



We have seen that the molar teeth of the very young 

 animal are deeply imbedded in the alveolar cavities of the jaw- 

 bone, and that when the animal becomes older the teeth are 

 gradually pushed out from these cavities as the free extremities 

 of the tooth become worn away. The molars are pushed out and 

 the jaws become thinner by absorption of the bone, which is no 

 longer needed as a bed for holding the teeth, which are dimin- 

 ished in size. We find, then, that, as the horse becomes grad- 

 ually older, the branches of the jaw-bone, which in the young 

 animal were thick and rounded, become gradually thinner and 

 sharp on their border, and form a very accurate indication of 

 the approximate age of the animal. 



In an old Arab book of agriculture, by Ibn-el-Awamm, 

 written about the twelfth century, it is stated that "one of the 

 signs by which an old horse can be recognized is to pinch be- 

 tween the thumb and index finger the skin of the forehead and 

 draw it out, and then to let go of it quickly. If the skin re- 

 turns promptly to its place and becomes perfectly smooth, the 

 animal will make a good horse," etc. 



In Aristotle we find the same statement prescribed as an 

 indication of age: "If the skin returns promptly to its place 

 and leaves no wrinkle, the animal is young ; if the skin remains 

 wrinkled, it is old." 



An old and neglected, but useful, means of approximating 



