48 AGE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



having- so much more to take care of in itself. The character 

 of work to whicli the horse is put is an important factor in 

 shortening the Hfe, — due to the fatigue entailed and the using 

 up of the powers of the organs. We find that a horse with a 

 quiet and docile disposition will perform heavier and rougher 

 work, with less deterioration in its animal economy, than one 

 alongside of it of a nervous and excitable disposition. The more 

 calm and quiet life of horses in the country is less prejudicial to 

 their existence than the bustle and confusion of the great 

 industrial centres and crowded streets of our large cities. 



Again, the necessities of rapid and variable work and 

 irregular hours of feeding in great cities predispose to internal 

 diseases, while the greater loads and rough pavements lead to 

 strains of tendons, wrenches of bones, bruised feet, and other 

 injuries which soon render the animals unserviceable, or condemn 

 them to return to the softer ground, lighter work, and more 

 regular life of the country, with, however, a broken-down con- 

 stitution. The care which the horse receives from its keeper — 

 which, of course, includes the regulation of work and feed — is an 

 all-important matter. A kind, judicious owner will work horses 

 for years and keep them sound and in good condition, doing a 

 vast amount of work ; Avhile in the next stable, under the guid- 

 ance of a careless or brutal owner, equally good horses will 

 perform less w^ork and become worthless in a short time. 



The word '•'usecV applied to horses has become synony- 

 mous with the word " aged " applied to man, and indicates the 

 time when the animal has become prematurely old. 



Examples are not rare in which the horse has attained the 

 age of thirty, thirty-six, forty, and even more years, and has 

 been in perfect health and capable of moderate useful service. 



PRINCIPLES OF EXAMINATION FOR DETERMINING THE AGE OF THE 



HORSE. 



To any one accustomed to horses it is an easy matter to dis- 

 tinguish at sight the very young from the adult horse, and the 

 middle-aged from the very old animal.* In very old animals 

 white hairs commence to show in the neighborhood of the 



