74 



AGE OF THE HORSE. 



The reason ' people call the old horse's teeth long is because 

 they show further out from the gums, while the young horse's 

 teeth are buried in the jaw-bone and covered by the gums. For 

 this reason the young horse's teeth appear short, while the old 

 horse's teeth look longer because they project farther out from 

 the gums. 



There are some horses that have what are called parrot-mouths, 

 where the upper jaw teeth extend over and beyond the lower jaw 

 teeth. Should this be the case, they will not wear off short, but 

 the teeth of a horse eight or nine years old will show as long as 

 a horse of twelve or fifteen will, where the teeth come together 

 and wear off properly on the crowns. 



