MlRKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES. 4J^ 



the teeth, which from this circumstance acquire a long, nar- 

 row shape. The engraving on the preceding page is a faith- 

 ful copy from nature of the lower nippers and left tush in a 

 very old horse. It will be perceived that the right tush has 

 fallen out. 



After the horse is eight years old, his age can not be told 

 with any thing more than simply an approximation to ac- 

 curacy, although an experienced horseman will not very often 

 err during the next four years. After the age of twelve, we 

 know of no reliable guide further than this, that very long, 

 smooth teeth indicate extreme old age. A few horses ex- 

 hibit only slight changes in the appearance of their teeth 

 after attaining their ninth year. We have met with several 

 that, at the ages of twelve or fifteen, had the marks of only 

 eight or nine, and quite a number whose corner teeth never 

 had any hooks. 



The appearance of the teeth will be considerably modified 

 by the kind of food which the horse eats, the soil and climate 

 of the country in which he lives, and the like circumstances. 

 Horses that run a great deal upon pasture, in sandy countries, 

 have their teeth worn smooth unusually early. The sand, 

 lodging upon the grass, is being continually ground between 

 the animal's teeth, and by this means the distinctive marks 

 of age, relied upon by horse dealers and jockeys, are often 

 brought on prematurely, so far as the teeth are concerned. 

 Judged solely by this indication, many a horse of five or six 

 would pass for ten. 



Along the Mississippi River, and many of its tributaries, 

 hundreds of horses and colts live nearly the whole year upon 

 the cane growing in the river and creek bottoms, and in their 

 case the nippers generally become broken ofl:* in such a man- 

 ner that no reliable marks of age remain. Like those horses 

 mentioned in the last paragraph, that live mainly by gracing 

 on sandy soils, they seldom have any hooks upon the corner 

 teeth. 



In some breeds the marks of the teeth vary materially from 

 those which are found in most horses. The pony, for ex- 





