Judging Horses 35 
change from milk to permanent teeth necessary. T'he permanent 
replace the temporary teeth at two and one-half or three years of 
age up to five years. 
44, Three years old. — At about two years and nine months of 
age the permanent pair of center nippers replaces the temporary 
ones, and by the time the animal is three years of age they are up 
and ready for use. They will have deep cups and are much larger 
than the temporary teeth. If the colt be a male, small tusks will 
appear at about this time (Fig. 16). 
45. Four years old. — At about three years and nine months, 
the intermediate pair of permanent nippers appears and is up and 
ready for use at four years of age. The center pair shows much 
wear and the cups are about one-third gone. The tusks, if any, 
have enlarged, but are still sharp on their points and flattish on 
the inside (Fig. 17). 
46. Five years old. — At about four years and nine months, the 
permanent corner nippers make their appearance and are up and 
ready for use at five years of age. At five years of age the horse 
has a full mouth of permanent teeth; the center nippers show 
two years’ wear and have changed slightly in shape, having be- 
come rounder on the inside, the cups being two-thirds gone; 
the intermediate nippers show one year’s wear, the cup being one- 
third gone. Five years is the age preferred on the market, and 
occasionally horsemen extract the temporary nippers, and so 
hasten the appearance of the permanent teeth (Fig. 18). 
47. Six years old. — The cups in the center pair in the lower 
jaw have disappeared, or nearly so; they have become much 
smaller in the intermediates and show one year’s wear in the 
corner nippers (Fig. 19). 
48. Seven years old. — At seven, the cups are gone from the 
intermediate pair in the lower jaw, and have become quite shallow 
in the corner nippers. There is a notch in the upper corner nipper 
where it overlaps the lower one. Marked changes in shape have 
taken place in the nippers; they are becoming thicker from inside 
