ON A GE AND APPEARANCE. 73 



melancholy, unless mounted, and artificial means are used 

 to give him spirit. 



The chin of a horse, in my opinion, is by far the Lest 

 mark to enable you to ascertain his age, inasmuch as it 

 does not admit of the practice of those arts by which the 

 jockey so often passes off an old broken-down horse for a 

 young one. The appearance can be changed only by na- 

 ture; and an attentive observer will soon be convinced 

 that it is not more difficult to tell an old horse from a young 

 one by the appearance of their chins, than it is for a skill- 

 ful physician to distinguish a cheek of health from one 

 that is wasted, diseased, and superannuated. 



The chin of a young horse is round, full, plump, full of 

 wrinkles, and the pores close and small; that of a horse ad- 

 vanced in years, flat, wrinkled, flabby, and the pores open 

 and large. Indeed, after some experience, together with 

 particular attention to this mark of age, there will be but 

 little difficulty in ascertaining, with certainty, the age of a 

 horse from three to nine years old. 



I have sometimes met with travelers on the road, whom 

 I never before had seen, and in traveling along have told 

 the age of their horses by their chins. An examination of 

 the lips and nostrils of a horse may aid, corroborate, and 

 strengthen the opinion of age, founded on the appearance 

 of the chin. The lips and nostrils of a young horse are 

 smooth and free from wrinkles, while those of an old horse , 

 abound with them. 



The physiognomy of a horse will assist much in ascer- 

 taining his age ; but the chin is certainly the safest guide. 



I will here introduce, for the benefit of the reader, an ex- 

 tract from the " American Farmer," referring to an idea 

 of Dr. Mason's. Dr. Mason in his work refers to the same 

 extract in the " American Farmer," which I here quote : 



