66 AGE OF THE HORSE. 



horse's age to a degree of certainty. But we understand other 

 marks that are more reliable than the cups we have just spoken 

 of. 



Some unprincipled men might make false cups in the teeth to 

 make the horse appear younger to those persons not fully conver- 

 sant with all the marks in the mouth. It will be noticed, by 

 examining the outside of the teeth of horses between the ages of 

 five and ten years, that they have smooth corner teeth, as shown 

 in cut No. 9. 



At ten years of age there will appear a small groove on the 

 upper corner teeth close to the gum, about half the size of a grain 

 of wheat, and this groove will appear longer as the horse advances 

 in age ; and when he arrives at the age of twenty-one years, this 

 groove will show all the way down the tooth, as it appears in the 

 nipper and middle teeth of the following cut : 



No. 15. 

 Side view of t' e horse's ;aw, at the age of fifteen years. 



The above cut represents the side view of the upper jaw of a 

 horse fifteen years old, with the groove half way down the upper 

 corner tooth; or, in other wcrds, to make it plain, the groove 



