334 



will be about thirty (Fig. 6*j). A quarter of a century 

 ag-o it was impossible to determine the ages of horses 

 beyond eight or nine years, when the indentations 

 left the teeth in the lower jaw, but the accurate ob- 

 servations of Galvayne, Brown, Smith, and other 

 experts, have rendered a more extended knowledge 

 practicable. 



The principles of the method of teeth-reading 

 described in the text and accompanying rough 

 sketches, after horses have attained the age of ten 

 years, are after Galvayne, Brown, and Smith, than 

 whom there are probably few more reliable authorities 

 — especially the first-named, who has perhaps done 

 more than any other man in demonstrating and estab- 

 lishing the principles of a system which, if not 

 absolutely perfect, is, at least, nearer that desired 

 standard than any other system which has come 

 within the experience ol the writer. 



From a utility point of view, it is unnecessary to 

 determine the ages of horses beyond thirty years, for 

 at that advanced age they are generally occupying the 

 position of pensioners and are consequently of little 

 monetary value. There are many well-authenticated 

 instances of horses living to thirty-five and forty years 

 of age. In Brown's "Compleie Modern Farrier," the 

 author produces a sketch of the teeth of a horse known 

 as ** Old Billy," which is said to have attained the 

 phenomenal age of seventy -six years (p. 197). "The 

 cranium," the author explains, " with the muscles pre- 

 served, is deposited in the Museum of the Manchester 



