CHAPTER IV 
THE HORSE—JUDGING AND HANDLING 
THE ability to judge horses and to determine their 
relative values for definite purposes is usually acquired 
only by experience. There is no short-cut way of de- 
terming the merits or soundness of a horse. The horse- 
inan must familiarize himself thoroughly with the 
animal; and the better he likes a horse the better judge 
he will be. Some points which are recognized as impor- 
tant by good judges are mentioned below. These points 
are, of course, not infallible, but they may be suggestive 
to the novice. 
AGE 
The age of a horse determines, in a general way, 
the limit of its usefulness. Still, it is not always a 
sure guide to follow. .A well-preserved horse, of good 
disposition and nervous temperament, is often vounger 
at sixteen, as far as activity and usefulness gu, than 
many another horse 1s at eight. But the average horse 
has reached the limit of his usefulness at twenty years 
of age. Exceptional cases may not have entirely out- 
lived their usefulness at thirty, and instances are re- 
corded of horses having lived for more than fifty years. 
A horse’s age is commonly determined by an exam- 
ination of the individual teeth. This is usually an ac- 
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