CHAPTER IX 



THE AGE OF THE HORSE AS INDICATED BY THE 

 TEETH, ETC. 



It is very necessary that every one interested in horses, 

 either for pleasurable or for business purposes should 

 possess a knowledge of the method adopted by experts for 

 ascertaining the age of any particular animal. It is not, 

 as a rule, a difficult matter to know, say, a colt from an 

 old horse, by mere casual inspection, but it is quite a 

 different matter to distinguish a horse five or six years 

 old from one of ten or twelve without referring to the 

 teeth. The latter affords the only reliable method of 

 recognising these differences, but this can only be done 

 by noting the appreciable changes which take place on 

 the cutting surfaces of the incisor teeth. 



Apart from the teeth, horses do display certain indica- 

 tions when they become old, and by an old horse we mean 

 an animal ranging from sixteen to thirty years, or even a 

 few years beyond the latter age. A great deal does, 

 however, depend upon the treatment or rather the care 

 bestowed upon the animal in relation to the last-named. 

 Quite a number of horses are, through their indiscriminate 

 employment, prematurely worn out, consequently it 

 is not a difficult matter to note the physical changes thus 

 brought about. On the other hand, the writer has seen 

 quite a number of horses, approximately thirty years of 

 age, which show little obvious signs of wear, simply 

 because the owners have bestowed infinite care upon 

 their charges. It must be accepted that horses working 

 in towns wear out more quickly than those working on 



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