218 Veterinary Elements. 



the attempt to treat the condition by the owner or groom 

 will be unsatisfactory, being cruel and worrying to the 

 horse, even to the extent of spoiling his mouth for life. 

 Everyone knows that the efforts of the expert human 

 dentist are directed to preserve the teeth, not to insert 

 false ones, even more important is this effort in the horse, 

 false teeth in him not being possible or practicable; a 

 horse' s usefulness, and therefore his life, depends as much 

 on his teeth, or more so, than on any organ of the body, 

 and while horse buyers only examine the front teeth to 

 determine the age, the well-posted person will want to 

 know the condition of the grinders, and whether any are 

 absent or diseased. The yearly examination of the 

 horse's mouth by the veterinarian is one of the most prof- 

 itable investments that can be made by a stockman, as 

 feed, flesh, and the resulting power to do the work will 

 be saved. The period of teething it will be remembered 

 (see page 34) extends almost from birth until the horse 

 is five years old, consequently the colt is just as liable to 

 have tooth troubles as is an old horse; the milk (tempo- 

 rary) molars, or crowns as they are termed, are often re- 

 tained instead of being shed at the proper time, especially 

 during the age of two to four years, the symptoms al- 

 ready mentioned are present and the lining of the mouth 

 may show a sore surface, the gums even bleeding, as 

 oftentimes a crown becomes partially loose and its sharp 

 and jagged edge will be pressed upon the gums during- 

 attempts to feed ; the treatment is removal of those crowns, 

 the smoothing of any sharp edges, soft feed, and in a few 

 weeks the improvement is almost beyond belief. 



