104 The Horse Farrier. 



til they are fourteen or fifteen years old, with their 

 teeth white, even, and regular, and many other marks 

 of freshness and vigor. But when a horse grows old, 

 it may be discovered by these indications, which com- 

 monly attend old age, viz : The gums wear away and 

 leave the roots of the teeth long and slender ; the 

 roots grow yellow, and often brownish ; the bars of 

 the mouth (which are always fleshy, plump, and dry, in 

 a young horse, and form so many distinct, firm ridges,) 

 in an old horse are lean, smooth, and are covered with 

 saliva, with few or no ridges. The eyes of a young horse 

 appear plump, full, and lively ; the lids with few wrink- 

 les, the hollows above the ball small, and no gray hairs 

 upon the brow, unless they proceed from the color or 

 marks of the horse. The eyes of an old horse appear 

 sleepy, dim and sunk, and the lids loose and very much 

 shriveled, with large hollows, and the brow gray. The 

 countenance of a young horse is bold, gay, and lively ; 

 while that of an old one is sad, dejected, and melan- 

 choly, unless mounted, and artificial means used to give 

 him spirit. 



The age can be ascertained by a wrinkle over the 

 eye after they are nine years old. A wrinkle comes on 

 the eyelid at the upper corner of the lower lid, and 

 every year thereafter he has one well-defined wrinkle 

 for each year over nine. If, for instance, a horse has 

 three wrinkles, he is twelve ; if four, he is thirteen. 

 And add the number of wrinkles to nine, and you will 

 always get it. 



TO SAVE HORSES FROM FIRE. 



The difficulty of getting horses from burning stables 

 is well known. The remedy is to blind-fold them per- 

 fectly, and by gentle usage, they may easily be led out. 



