142 



THE HORSE. 



and the mark becomin£^ small and faint. At this period, likewise, the 

 second pair of grinders will be shed, and, previous to this, will be the 

 attempt of the dealer to i^ive to his three-year-old an additional year, but 

 the fraud maybe detected by an examination similar to that which we have 

 already described. 



At four years, the central nippers 

 will be fully developed ; the sharp 

 edge somewhat worn oft"; the mark 

 shorter, wider and fainter : the next 

 pair will be up, but they will be small, 

 with the mark deep, and extending 

 quite across them ; and the corner 

 nippers, larger than the inside ones, 

 yet smaller than they were, flat, and 

 the mark nearly effaced ; the sixth 

 grinder will have risen to a level with 

 the others, and the tushes will begin 



'^^ i ^^ appear. 



^-"^ — ^-'" ^ Now, more than at any other time, 



will the dealer be anxious to put an additional year upon the animal, for 

 the difference between a four-year-old colt, and a five-year- old horse, in 

 strength, utility, and value, is very great ; but the want of wear in the 

 other nippers — the small size of the corner ones— the little growth of the 

 tush — the smallness of the second grinder — the low fore-hand — the leggi- 

 ness of the colt, and the thickness and little depth of them.outh, will, to the 

 man of common experience among horses, at once detect the cheat. 



The tushes (see p. 134) are four in number, two in each jaw, situated 

 between the nippers and the grinders, much nearer to the former than the 

 latter, and nearer in the lower jaw than in the upper, but this distance in- 

 creasing in both jaws with the age of the animal. In shape it somewhat 

 resembles a cone ; it protrudes about an inch from the gum, and has its 

 extremity sharp-pointed and curved. At the age of which we are nov/ 

 speaking, the tushes are almost peculiar to the horse, and castration does 

 not appear to prevent or retard their development. All m.ares, however, 

 have the beginnings of them in the chambers of the jaw, and they appear 

 externally in the majority of old mares. Their use is not evident : — perhaps 

 in the wild state of the animal they are weapons of offence; so as that he 

 can more firmly seize, and more deeply wound his enemy. 



The breeder often attempts to hasten the appearance of the tush, and 

 he cuts deeply through the gum to remove the opposition which that 

 would afford. To a little extent he succeeds. He may possibly gain a few 

 weeks, but he cannot gain more ; for the resistance of the gum is not like 

 that of a solid and firmly fixed tooth, and is much more easily overcome 

 by the regular process of nature. After all, there is much uncertainty as 

 to the api)earance of the tush, and it may vary from the fourth year to four 

 years and six months. It belongs, in the upper jaw, both to the inferior 

 and superior maxillary bones (see /?, p. ^^) ; for, wliile its fang is deeply 

 imbedded in the inferior maxillary, the toolh penetrates the process of the 

 superior maxillary at the union of those bones. 



At four years and a half, or between that and five, the last import- 

 ant change takes place in the mouth of the horse. The corner nippers 

 are shed, and the permanent ones begin to appear ; tlie central nippers are 

 considerably worn, and the next pair are beginning to show marks of usage. 

 The tush has now protruded, and is generally a full half inch in height j 



