DEKTITIOK. 173 



mil not introduce the subject of reins and bits till after 

 dinner, when we can give it the attention it deserves. 



To-morrow, I intend starting on a trip that I had con- 

 templated making later in the season, but have concluded 

 that you will miss me less now than after your horses 

 commence the other stages of the preparation. They will 

 need watching, to see that their feed is regulated to suit 

 the appetite and keep them in about the same flesh as at 

 present. When feeding time comes, every horse ought 

 to signify his desire by neighing ; and if he does not ex- 

 press his anxiety on hearing the sieve rattle, his rations 

 should be diminished ; and those that unmistakably show 

 that their appetite has not been satisfied must have theirs 

 increased. The colts' mouths will have to be examined 

 frequently, to see that, while undergoing the process of 

 dentition, their mouths are not made sore from the old 

 teeth not being shed at the right time. The milk teeth 

 are partially absorbed by those growing to take their place, 

 and often hang by the integuments adhering to the side 

 of the tooth, and preventing proper mastication of the 

 food. Old horses frequently suffer from the grinding 

 teeth not wearing away evenly, leaving sharp, jagged 

 points to wound the inside of the lips. The file must be 

 used to reduce them to a proper shape, Horses that are 

 suffering from this cause will signify it by partly chewing 

 the hay, which will fall out of their mouth, in consequence 

 of holding their head on one side to allow the food to 

 come under the pressure of the teeth on the well side, &c. 

 A decayed tooth may be the cause, though generally it is 

 the sharp one wounding the tender parts adjacent. With 

 the file made on purpose for this section of horse dentis- 

 try, and which is guarded from injuring by being made 

 round and smooth on the back, the job is easily accom- 

 plished, though I have seen cases that were neglected till 



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