40 STABLE MANUAL AND HORSE DOCTOR 



The Teeth and Mouth. — In lifting his lip, if the incisor 

 teeth shut close, even, and are perpendicular, he is young. 

 As he grows older, they project forward in a horizontal 

 direction, and the upper and under edges do not meet with 

 evenness, the upper projecting over the under teeth. The 

 longer his teeth are, the gums being dry and shrunk from 

 them, the more advanced he is in age. This appearance of 

 his teeth cannot be altered by the arts of the dealer. In 

 youth, the teeth are flattened at front and rear, and long 

 from side to side ; at eight years old they are oval ; as age 

 advances, they become round, and in extreme old age, 

 triangular, yellow, and incrusted, and the tusks become 

 blunt. If there are any marks of extraordinary wear in 

 the central teeth, there is reason to suspect crib-biting, and 

 in old cribbers the outer edge of the front teeth are worn 

 away, and little pieces are sometimes broken off by the attri- 

 tion against the manger ; if such is the case, look to the 

 neck for marks of the crib-biting strap. Dishonest dealers 

 attempt to disguise age by reproducing the mark in the 

 corner teeth by means of a hot iron or caustic ; the fraud 

 is easily detected by a judge, as it is usually overdone, 

 and the marks do not correspond with the length, shape, 

 and duration of the teeth, and the "bishoped" horse is 

 usually loth to have his mouth meddled with. 



CHAPTER III 



BUYING A HORSE— TRIAL AFTER 

 EXAMINATION 



Having attentively looked over the horse as he stands, 

 and discovered nothing objectionable to the eye, it is 

 prudent to see him through his paces before proceeding to 

 ascertain, by careful examination, what defects, blemishes, 

 etc., which may have tendency to produce unsoundness, he 

 is afflicted with; as the action of a horse, when closely 

 observed, guides us to his defective points. 



Action, Lameness. — He should be first walked, and 

 then trotted, without any whip near him, slowly down the 

 ride, allowing the animal to have the whole of the halter 



