364 



THE ANATOMY OF THE HORSE 



of the burning-iron without cutting off the teeth will seldom answer the 

 pui-poses of the " coper." Formerly it was very common to see mouths with 

 the corner nippers burnt to show a " good mark," and nothing else done to 

 them ; but, for the reasons given above, the plan is now almost entirely 

 abandoned. 



Irregularities in the growth of teeth are by no means uncommon in the 

 horse, often caused by the practice of punching out the milk teeth to hasten 

 the growth of the permanent set. Instead of having this effect, however, 



"iG. 11. —Upper Nippers ik the Kigut-Year-Old 

 Horse. 

 A. Anterior maxillary bone. 



1. 1. Central nippers, worn to a plane surface. 



2. 2. Next pair, still showing a slight remnant 



of the cavity. 



3. 3. Comer nippers, showing the mark jilainly 



enough. 



4. 4. Tuslies, more worn down than in the lower 



jaw of the six-year-old mouth. 



Fio. 11a.— Lower Niitees and Left Tush 

 OF A VERY Old Horse, the Bight hav- 



INQ FALLEN ODT. 



the teeth are induced to take a wrong direction, and not meeting their 

 fellows they do not wear down as they naturally should. In punching out 

 the comer nipper it is very often broken off, and the fang is allowed to 

 remain in the socket. The consequence is that the picking up of the food 

 does not hasten the removal of the fang of the milk tooth, and instead of 

 accelerating the growth of the permanent tooth in the natural position, it 

 retards it and sometimes drives it to seek a passage through the gums behind 

 its proper socket. Here, not meeting the corresponding nipper of the upper 



