750 EXAMINATION FOR ACtE. 



Many copers, being ignorant that, as a great rule, the upper milk 

 incisors fall out earlier than the lower ones, remove the latter 

 only, and thus perpetrate a transparent fraud. English dealers 

 often call these animals " Yorkshire five-year-olds." 



Dates from which Horses are Aged. 



In England, thoroughbreds take their age from 1st January. 

 Thus, an animal of Stud-Book parentage, dropped any time, say, 

 in the year 1903, would remain a foal till the 31st December, 

 1903; would be a yearling on the following day, and would re- 

 main so up to the 31st December, 1904, and he would be a two- 

 year-old from the 1st January to the 31st December, 1905. Half- 

 bred horses take their ages, in England, usually from the 1st May. 

 In Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and South Africa, horses 

 are aged from the 1st August. For instance, a Colonial colt born 

 in September, 1902, or in March, 1903, will be a two-year-old 

 on the 1st August, 1904. If we want to age a young horse, the 

 actual date of whose birth is unknown to us, we should, in case 

 of doubt, assign to him the younger of the two ages, if his " class 

 birthday " be near at hand ; the older of the two, if it be re- 

 cently past. Thus, suppose an Australian horse had a " full mouith " 

 (all his incisors permanent) in June, hut his corner incisors showed 

 little or no wear, he should be then aged as a four-year-old, and, 

 two months later, would become a five-year-old. At the worst, we 

 could, here, be only a couple of months out. But if we put him 

 down as five, we should be adding on, at least, nine or ten months 

 to his age. If a Colonial animal in, say, September showed the 

 condition of mouth just described, we should age him as five years 

 old ; for if we put him down as four, we should be giving our 

 sanction to an animal at least four years and nine months, remain- 

 ing a four-year-rold for another eleven months ! In India, Arabs 

 and country breds are aged from the 1st January. Here, again, if 

 we had to age in, say, September, an Arab which had shed only 

 his central milk incisors, it would be right to age him as a three- 

 year-old, if there was a doubt as to his retaining liis lateral milk 

 incisors until the 1st of the following January. 



The term, " rising," is, as a rule, applied to a horse's age, when 

 it is less than that which is stated ; and, " off," when it is more. 

 The former is used when the birthday is comparatively near at 

 hand ; the latter, when it has recently past. Thus, a horse " rising 

 five " is a four-year-old which is nearer five than four. An animal 

 " four off," is a four-year-old that is nearer four, than five. 



The large majority of half-bred horses which are sold as five- 

 year-olds during the autumn in England and Ireland, as I have 



