67 

 mouth ; and if confidence is established, no opposi- 

 tion will be offered to the jaws being kept for a 

 short time apart. Of this, advantage is taken to 

 observe the arrangement of the teeth, to inspect the 

 tables, and to note the shape or depth of the infun- 

 dibula. When all this has been accomplished, in 

 less time perhaps than it takes to read a description 

 of the process, the business is generally finished, and 

 a conclusion has been arrived at that amounts to 

 positive conviction. On certain occasions, however, 

 it may be desirable to inspect the molars ; and to do 

 this properly requires a little tact. Some persons 

 cast the horse for this slight operation : indeed, there 

 are people who throw horses as though they imagined 

 nothing could be done without the hobbles. There 

 is, however, generally no occasion for such a pro- 

 ceeding ; the twitch in the great majority of cases is 

 all that is needed, and, with a little patience, even 

 that instrument of torture may be dispensed with. 

 A stool, or if nothing better is at hand, the stable 

 pail is fetched for the operator to stand upon, so as 

 to look with ease into the mouth of the elevated 

 head. The animal is led into a good light, the 

 balling iron placed between its jaws to keep them 



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