58 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 
DISEASES OF THE TEETH. 
Dentition.—This covers the period during which the young horse 
is cutting his teeth—from birth to the age of 5 years. With the 
horse more difficulty is experienced in cutting the second or per- 
manent teeth than with the first or milk teeth. There is a tendency 
among farmers and many veterinarians to pay too little attention to 
the teeth of young horses. Percivall relates an instance illustrative 
of this that is best told in his own words: 
I was requested to give my opinion concerning a horse, then in his fifth year, 
who had fed so sparingly for the last fortnight, and so rapidly declined in con- 
dition in consequence, that his owner, a veterinary surgeon, was under no light 
apprehensions about his life. He had himself examined his mouth without 
having discovered any defect or disease, though another veterinary surgeon 
was of opinion that the difficulty or inability manifested in mastication, and 
the consequent cudding, arose from preternatural bluntness of the surfaces of 
the molar teeth, which were, in consequence, filed, but without beneficial result. 
It was after this that I saw the horse, and I confess I was, at my first examina- 
tion, quite as much at a loss to offer any satisfactory interpretation as others 
had been. While meditating, however, after my inspection, on the apparently 
extraordinary nature of the case, it struck me that I had not seen the tusks. I 
went back into the stable and discovered two little tumors, red and hard, in the 
situation of the inferior tusks, which, when pressed, gave the animal insuffer- 
able pain. I instantly took out my pocketknife and made crucial incisions 
through them both, down to the coming teeth, from which moment the horse 
recovered his appetite and, by degrees, his wonted condition. 
The mouths of young horses should be examined from time to time 
to see whether one or more of the milk teeth are not remaining too 
long, causing the second teeth to grow in crooked, in which case the 
first teeth should be removed with the forceps. 
Irregularities of teeth—There is a fashion of late years, espe- 
cially in large cities, to have horses’ teeth regularly “floated,” or 
“rasped,” by “veterinary dentists.” In some instances this is very 
beneficial, while in most cases it is entirely unnecessary. From the 
character of the feed, the rubbing, or grinding, surface of the horse’s 
teeth should be rough. Still, we must remember that the upper jaw 
is somewhat wider than the lower, and that, from the fact of the teeth 
not being perfectly apposed, a sharp ridge is left unworn on the 
inside of the lower molars and on the outside of the upper, which may 
excoriate the tongue or cheeks to a considerable extent. This condi- 
tion may readily be felt by the hand, and these sharp ridges when 
found should be rasped down by a guarded rasp. In some instances 
the first or last molar tooth is unnaturally long, owing to the fact 
that its fellow in the opposite jaw has been lost or does not close per- 
fectly against it. Should it be the last molar that is thus elongated, 
