CHOOSING A HORSE 11 



Seven years old. — At seven, the cups are gone from the inter, 

 mediate 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 out, rounder on the inside, and meet at a sharper 

 angle than when they first made their appearance. 



Eight years old. — At eight years, the cups are gone from all 

 the nippers of the lower jaw. They are present in all of the 

 upper jaw. 



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

 the upper jaw have disappeared, but are still present in the 

 intermediate and corner nippers. The cups are not likely to 

 disappear at as regular intervals in the upper jaw as they did 

 in the lower. Therefore it is not always possible to tell the age 

 of the horse so accurately. 



Ten years old. — At ten years of age, the cups have disappeared 

 from the upper intermediates, but are still retained in the corner 

 nippers, though shallow. The teeth are more triangular in 

 shape, and those of the upper and lower jaw meet at a sharper 

 angle as the age increases. 



Eleven years old. — At eleven years, the cups are gone from 

 all the nippers of the upper jaw. However, because of the fact 

 that some horses have denser bones than others, it is not un- 

 common to find shallow cups in the upper corner teeth as late 

 as the twelfth or the fifteenth year. 



Aged horses. — After the horse has passed the twelfth year, 

 the matter of a year or two amounts to little. Much depends 

 on the individuality of the animal, as some animals are worth 

 more at fifteen than others at twelve. One's judgment of the 

 value of a horse at these ages should be formed on general ap- 

 pearances and activities rather than on age. 



In old horses, the nipper teeth have become nearly triangular, 

 showing long wear and meeting at an acute angle. The tusks 



