26o THE HORSE. 



Shape of the Teeth. The teeth as they diminish in lateral breadth 

 they increase in proportionate thickness from front to back. 

 , At six and up to eight the teeth are all broad laterally at their upper 

 surfaces. 



At nine, when the marks fail, the two center teeth have become some- 

 what triangular. 



At ten the two next show similiar signs. 



At eleven, the two corner teeth have become somewhat triangular. 



At twelve, the triangularity has increased in all the teeth, and con- 

 tinues to increase until in very old horses the depth from front to rear 

 exceeds the lateral width. 



: From these facts the reader will perceive that after six years old, i. e., 

 after the structural changes in the mouth are completed, it is impossible 

 to lay down any one single definite rule by which the age can be ascer- 

 tained. Still, with a little trouble and attention there is no real difficulty 

 in acquiring a knowledge of the horse's age up to a comparatively late 

 period of his life. 



Such a knowledge is always valuable to an intending purchaser. 

 Horses of eight or nine years old are still in their prime; but from want 

 of knowledge of the means of ascertaining the real age and from very 

 natural distrust of what the owner may tell them, the public are very 

 shy of buying such horses; and consequently they may generally be ob- 

 tained at prices below their real value. 



