

DADD'S VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



become blunt, less angular, and more rounded, and the furrows 

 have disappeared. Supposing that the tushes are not completely 

 evolved until the age of Jive; in the sixth year the apex of the 

 cone is worn some; in the seventh the furrows grow shallow; in 

 the eighth year they are obliterated, after which period the apex 

 gradually wears away, and the body of the same becomes rounded 

 and pointed, or blunt, according to circumstances. Aside from 

 the teeth, an aged horse may be known by the deep pits above the 

 orbital processes ; the sunken eye ; by the prominence of the joints 

 and loss of plumpness in the muscles ; the lips are somewhat pen- 

 dulous ; the withers sharp ; the back becomes arched ; the teeth • 

 are lengthened, and become yellow. 



Fig. 12. 



A PORTION OF THE UPPF.E JAW OP OLD BLACK HAWK, 



(Aged twenty -three years and eight months.) 



The Grinders, or Molars, afford but very little information 

 as regards the precise age of a horse. As he advances in years, 

 however, the outer edges become sharpened, so that it often be- 

 comes necessary to rasp them. As regards their development, it 

 is understood that the foal is born with two upper and lower 

 grinders in each jaw. At the end of a month, sometimes more, a 

 third appears. At the completion of the first year, or thereabouts, 

 a fourth grinder in each jaw appears. Thus the yearling has six- 

 teen grinders. At the age of two, a fifth grinder appears, and at 

 the age of three the sixth and last appear. It must be remembered 

 that cribbers and voracious feeders are apt to deface their teeth, 

 and thus some persons are apt to be deceived as regards the exact 

 age; but a good judge, who takes into consideration not only the 

 appearances of the surfaces, but also the marks, points, and the 

 inclination of the teeth, will not be apt to make any grave mistake. 



