HOW TO TELL THE AGE. 



565 



which give the idea so correctly as the general appearance of the 

 teeth and absorption of the jaws. In young horses the edge of 

 the lower jaw is round and full ; as the horse- becomes older, this 

 edge becomes sharper and thinner. 



The most unique trick shown the writer of telling the age was 

 the following : — 



If a gold ring be attached to a hair pulled from the tail or 



Fig. :i2-i.—At S years. 



Fig. 331.— About 8 years. 



mane of a horse, and suspended directly above 

 his head between the ears, it will oscillate, like 

 a pendulum, just the number of times the horse 

 is year.s old, then stop and repeat. I have re- 

 peatedly made the experiment, and it certainly 

 seemed to repeat the age of the horse; but I 

 could not feel satisfied that the motion of the 

 ring was not in a great measure controlled by 

 the involuntary movement of the hand. The 

 man who gave the idea made the experiment 

 in the presence of the writer with apparent 

 success. 



Jockeys frequently resort to cutting down 

 the teeth of aged horses, so as to simulate as 

 much as possible the appearance of the mouth 

 at eight or nine years of age. This was formerly done by sawing 

 or filing, but more recently there has been invented, by Dr. 

 Dancer, a leading veterinary surgeon of New Jersey, a very in- 



FiG. 323.— At 8 years. 



