JUDGING HORSES IX SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 25 



Two years. — The pinchers and the intermediates indicate that they 

 are being crowded by the permanent teeth, as they are pushed free 

 from their gums at the base. By the time the colt is two and a half 

 years old the middle pinchers should be through. The permanent 

 teeth are much larger than the temporary ones. 



Three years. — The middle pinchers are large enough for use. 

 Their deep cups show plainly. The milk intermediates are about 



to be shed. 



Four years. — The permanent intermediates appear at three and a 

 half years and are ready for use at four. The corner teeth give 

 evidence that the permanent corners are coming. The cups in the 

 pinchers are about one-third gone. (The tusks, or canine teeth, of 

 male colts may appear about this time.) 



Five years. — The temporary corner teeth are shed at four and a 

 half and the permanent ones are ready to use. The horse has now 

 what is known as a full mouth, all permanent incisors being ready 

 to use. The cups of the first pair are about two-thirds gone. 



Six years. — The cups in the center pair have nearly disappeared. 

 In the second pair they are about two-thirds gone. 



Seven years. — The cups from the second pair are now gone. There 

 is a notch in the upper corner tooth where it overlaps the lower one. 



Eight years. — The cups having all worn out of the lower nippers, 

 we now look at the upper jaw. Although cups remain in the center 

 pair, they are not deep. 



Nine years. — The cups in the center pair of nippers on the upper 

 jaw have disappeared. The} 7 are still present in the other two pairs, 

 being fairly deep in the corner ones. 



Ten years. — The cups are worn out of the second pair on the upper 

 jaw, although they are still present in the corner pair. 



Older horses. — At 11 years all of the cups are usually worn out 

 of the incisors. It becomes necessary now to use some other indica- 

 tion of age. Estimation of age is now based upon the angle at 

 which the teeth meet, their change in size and shape. As the horse 

 gets older, the teeth meet more and more at an acute angle; that is, 

 the jaws become more oblique. As the teeth wear down, the shape 

 of the worn ends changes from oval to more nearly round and 

 finally, in an aged horse, to a nearly triangular form. Students 

 should note the difference in the shape of the teeth in younger horses. 

 Sometimes cups are cut or burned in the teeth of old horses to make 

 their mouths resemble those of younger animals. This practice, 

 known as " Bishoping," may be detected if the shape of the tooth 

 and the absence of the ring of enamel which surrounds the natural 

 cup are noted. After a horse is 12 years old its condition is more 

 important than its age in determining values. 



