737 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

 Examination of the Mouth for Age. 



DURATION OF LIFE OF HORSES MEANS OF ASCERTAINING A HORSe's 



AGE PARTS OF A TOOTH DIFFERENT KINDS OF TEETH ^FORM 



OF THE TEETH STRUCTURE OF THE TEETH CHANGES UNDERGONE 



BY THE TEETH WITH AGE DATES OF TEETHING CAUSES WHICH 



MAT HASTEN OR RETARD THE APPEARANCE OF THE PERMANENT 



TEETH DATES FROM WHICH HORSES ARE AGED TEETH WHICH 



RETAIN THE MARK AND CENTRAL ENAMEL BEYOND THE ORDINARY 



TIME IRREGULARITY IN THE RESPECTIVE SIZE OF THE UPPER AND 



LOWER JAW IRREGULARITIES IN THE TEETH BISHOPING— ILLUS- 

 TRATIONS OP DIFFERENT AGES. 



Duration of Life of Horses. 



The chief difficulty in solving this question, is the fact that 

 owners of domestic horses generally kill them, when these animals 

 are past work, and records of the respective births and deaths of 

 wild horses are seldom, if ever made. Goubaux and Barrier tell 

 us that their confrere, M. Laurent, sent them the jaws of a 

 horse which was 49 years old, and that in 1845 they saw a horse 

 of the Cuirassiers, which had gone through the Russian campaign 

 of 1813, and, on that account, was probably 38 years old. 

 Mr. H. B. Hiles, M.R.C.V.S., most kindly sent me the jaws of a 

 horse which was 42J years old when he was destroyed by his 

 owner, who had him for 36 years. The teeth of this animal 

 are shown in Figs. 265, 266, and 267. I venture to say that 

 30 years is about the age limit of thorough-bred stallions which 

 are kept in studs. 



M. H. Bouley considers that high feeding, by hastening pre- 

 cocity, tends to shorten the life of animals. Friends of mine 

 who have had long experience among horses abroad, inform 

 me that horses which are brought up under natural conditions on 

 grass, until they are at least 5 years old, live much longer than 



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