238 VETERINARY LECTURES 



of the animal. I could not remove these shells with my fingers, 

 and, having no instrument, I went to a blacksmith's shop, and had 

 clips made on the sides of an old pair of tongs. With these I 

 removed the eight shells, or crowns, and then prescribed tonic 

 medicine. Up to this case I knew little about dental trouble, it 

 being my first lesson. Since then I have devoted a good deal of 

 time to it, and have had made to my order various instruments 

 (Plate XXXIII., Nos. 1 and 2). I have, I may note, frequently 

 seen the crown of the second premolar come off before that of the 

 first. I have also in one operation removed the crowns of the first 

 and second premolars joined together, and of such teeth I have 

 several specimens (Plate XXIX., C, 1st and 2nd). 



352. When a young animal is suffering from retarded dentition, 

 it loses flesh, and the belly becomes tucked up ; there is a long, 

 shaggy coat, tight skin, ewe-neck, thin thighs, and flat ribs ; it drags 

 its legs, and walks with a listless gait, feeds badly, and eats little or 

 no hay. There is also occasional and exhaustive diarrhoea. Examine 

 the mouth, and if the crowns of the temporary teeth are the cause, 

 remove them. Prevention is said to be better than cure, and people 

 acting on this maxim now have young horses brought to my surgery, 

 from December to June, to have their mouths examined, when, if 

 necessary, I remove the crowns. This long and varying period is 

 due to the time when the animals are born, as well as to their 

 mode of feeding. 



353. When from three and a half to four years old (7) the 



horse casts its lateral incisors and the third temporary premolar, 

 and these are replaced by permanent ones, one on each side, above 

 and below. The sixth tooth or third molar now comes into view ; 

 thus, at four years old, it casts eight temporary and gets twelve 

 permanent teeth (Plate XXX.), but it seldom seems to suffer so 

 much as at three years old, although there is an old saying that a 

 four-year-old horse cannot stand work so well as a three-year-old. 

 This, in my opinion, is due to the punishment it has gone through as 

 a three-year-old, and the effects of which it has not been able to 

 throw off. If you find an animal not doing well at this period, 

 examine the mouth, and, if necessary, remove the shells from the 



