24 BULLETIN 487, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



cial attention should be given the trot or pace according to the direc- 

 tions given under the description of the draft horse. The light horse 

 should not come down on his heels in a pronounced manner. 



ESTIMATING THE AGE OF A HORSE. 



Every student should learn to estimate the age of a horse. When 

 a horse is scored each student should put his estimate of the horse's 

 age upon the card. Horses of different ages should be selected in 

 order that the student may note their development and have prac- 

 tice in estimating ages. (Fig. 15.) 



Until a horse is over 10 } T ears old the teeth furnish an indication 

 of age which is fairly accurate. In estimating the age of a horse 



Ave consider only the 

 three pairs of front 

 teeth or nippers on 

 each jaw. Horses, 

 like human beings, 

 have two sets of 

 teeth ; the first set, 

 known as milk teeth, 

 being replaced by 

 permanent teeth. 

 New teeth have deep 

 cups, or indenta- 

 tions, at their cen- 

 ters. As the teeth 

 wear down these 

 cups disappear. 



A colt does not 

 usually get its first 

 pair of nippers until 

 it is a few days old, 

 and has all three 

 pairs by the time it 

 is 6 to 10 months old. Until a colt is 3 years old, its general appear- 

 ance is relied upon largely as an indication of its age. The follow- 

 ing descriptions, with the accompanying illustrations, are intended 

 to aid the student in getting an idea of the condition of a horse's 

 mouth by years: 



One year. — The center pair of milk incisors, known as the pinch- 

 ers, and the pair next to them, known as the intermediates, are well 

 through the gums and in contact, but the corner pairs do not yet 

 meet on a level. 



f hm'ses as indicated by teeth. 



Longitudinal section of left central lower incisor and 

 cross sections of same tooth, showing table surfaces as 

 they appear at the ages of 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 20, and 25 years. 

 C, Cement ; I, infundibulum ; D, dentine ; K, cup ; S, star ; 

 E, enamel : P, pulp cavity. 



