68 THE HORSE. 



The only two colours of the breed are brown and bay, in either 

 case with black points. White markings are not liked by 

 breeders, but they sometimes occur. The Yorkshire Coach 

 horse is much used as a carriage horse in London, and well 

 matched pairs of this breed fetch high prices, as there is a 

 considerable demand for them, while the supjoly is small. The 

 trotting action of the breed is good, and fairly high in front, 

 but nothing like that of the Hackney in this I'espect. York- 

 shiie Coach horses are bred practically only in Yorkshire. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



ASCERTAINING THE AGE OF HORSES. 



The appearance of the incisor teeth (or front teeth) of horses 

 varies at different ages, and it is, therefore, possible to ascer- 

 tain the age of a horse up to a certain point by examining the 

 teeth. A horse has in all twelve incisor teeth, of which six- 

 are in the upper jaw and six in the lower one. As is the case 

 with other animals, the first set of incisor teeth in a young 

 horse are temporary ones. These temporary teeth are also often 

 called milk teeth. They are shed at certain intervals, and 

 their jtlace is taken by otlier teeth, whicli are retained perma- 

 nently in the gums: tliese are termed permanent teeth. 



The Milk Teeth differ considerably in appearance from 

 tlie permanent ones, and there is no difficulty in distinguishing 

 between the two sets. The milk teeth are small in size and 

 quite white in colour, while the permanent teeth are large, 



