TEETH. 167 



Its consequences are, perhaps, best exhibited by the thirst which it 

 will generate. The horse is not, naturally, a large drinker ; but if the 

 internal portions of the body have to supply moisture, in order that theso 

 parts may extract the nutriment from dry food, the water must be re- 

 placed from an outward source. Horses have been known to be ill from 

 excessive thirst. Mr. William Percivall, the late respected author on 

 veterinary subjects, has recorded a case of this description. Neverthe- 

 less, copious draughts of cold water are frequently attended with 

 danger ; only, does it not exhibit a refinement upon cruelty — firstly, to 

 imprison an animal, and fasten it to one spot; secondly, to give only 

 such provender as must generate a craving for fluid ; thirdly, to with- 

 hold the liquid which our folly has created a desire to imbibe ? 



The stable diet, moreover, throws the incisors out of use. These 

 teeth, in the domesticated animal, are employed only to grasp a little 

 hay and to pull it from the rack. They are of no further service. One 

 of their popular names, "nippers," is in general a misnomer, for they are 

 permitted to nip nothing ; much less are they allowed to exercise their 

 incisive faculty. Therefore, being thrown out of use, the members have 

 no function to control their natural growth. They continue to protrude 

 as age advances, till, by the thirtieth year, or by the time the quadruped 

 has attained half the period of its natural existence, the front teeth have 

 become long spikes, and are actual deformities within the mouth they 

 were designed to adorn. 



So palpable a sign is, however, not understood. To be sure, the 

 present treatment of the horse slaughters the majority of its fellows before 

 dentition is perfected. Few gentlemen, therefore, may have looked upon 

 an aged quadruped ; for prevailing fashion declares the creature, whose 

 strength and youth have been devoted to man's pleasure, should be sold 

 so soon as the advent of age is apparent. The chances, consequently, 

 are, that the present chapter will be "news" to the greater number of 

 readers. It may record facts which will be perused with wonder, and it 

 may adduce circumstances which will be read with surprise. 



Though up to the present moment these things may not have been 

 properly regarded, from the present time there can be no excuse for con- 

 tinuing existing customs. Why should the teeth of the horse alone be 

 subjected to abuse? The dog lives ofi" biscuits and cooked flesh; the 

 cat enjoys the scraps from the family table. Why should the horse, of 

 all strictly domesticated creatures, be doomed to consume raw food ? It 

 would be cheaper to prepare all sustenance for digestion, since, in that 

 form, less would communicate more nourishment; and if the matter is 

 to be decided as a money question, there can be no doubt as to the side 

 on which pecuniary interest would range. 



