FOOD. 43 



lower ones at the outside, and the lower ones the 

 upper at the inside. By continually wearing, 

 the upper back teeth get worn down more on the 

 inside than the outside, and the lower ones more 

 on the outside than the inside, or, in other words, the 

 grinding surface of the teeth, instead of being hori- 

 zontal, is at an angle or slope. The horse masticates 

 his food with a sideways motion of the jaws, crushing 

 the food between the back teeth like mill- stones, 

 so that if the grinding surfaces of the teeth are not 

 level, but sloped at an angle, they become locked, 

 and prevent sufficient sideways play of the jaws. If 

 this is suspected, the back teeth can be easily in- 

 spected by turning the horse with his tail to the sun, 

 grasping the tongue w^ith the left hand and opening 

 the mouth, while the light is reflected into it by a 

 small looking-glass held in the right. They can 

 also be felt by putting one's hand on the outside of 

 the cheek, where the outer edge of the upper teeth 

 can be easily felt, and pushing the finger inwards 

 and upwards, so as to get on the grinding surface 

 when the horse opens his mouth, and the angle the}^ 

 are at can be at once detected through the cheek. 

 This is, of course, only a rough method of examina- 

 tion, but it gives one a fair idea of the state the 

 molars are in. If a tooth is broken or deficient, the 



