CHAPTEE XI. 



DISEASES OF THE TEETH OF HORSES. 



Yert little is known about the teeth of the 

 horse as far as regards their diseases, yet the 

 "writer is well convinced that the horse, like man, 

 often suffers considerably by disease of the teeth. 

 Many horses have come under his observation 

 that were reduced to mere skeletons through bad 

 teeth. This is a part of veterinary work that is 

 often overlooked when examining a horse, and 

 many horses are physicked and drenched with 

 medicine for imaginary complaints of the liver, 

 when with a little careful examination the evil 

 would be found to be the result of a hollow tooth. 

 Horses that have bad teeth generally have a dull 

 heavy appearance, frequently taking a mouthful 

 of hay or corn, and partly chewing it then letting 

 it drop ; they will open their mouths and move 

 the tongue about from side to side, and let the 

 corn fall out as if the}?" had got a stone in with the 

 corn. It is not often that rot takes place, from 

 the fact that the constant use of the grinders in 

 chewing grain or straw wears them down to their 

 natural form, yet many horses are found by that 

 same practice with their teeth as sharp as a 

 lance on the edges, and the edges worn unevenl3\ 

 This cuts the inside of the cheek or the tongue, 



