394 
Dentition as indicative of the Age 
of the horse under examination has been manipulated, with 
the view to make the animal appear younger or older than it 
really is. Up to the age of five years it may be advantageous 
to the seller to convince the purchaser that the horse is above 
its real age ; but as six years old is, according to general con- 
viction, the period of equine perfection, an old horse gains by 
being made to appear as near that age as possible. 
That the horse's mouth is sometimes subjected to certain 
processes for the purpose of deception cannot be doubted. 
Many young animals come into the market bearing evidence in 
the malposition of their teeth, or in the absence of some of 
them altogether, that violence has been employed to anticipate 
the natural process of eruption, but often in so bungling a 
manner that the object has been defeated. Early extraction 
of the temporary teeth facilitates the cutting of the permanent 
organs, and by commencing with the central incisors as soon 
as signs of their displacement are seen, and continuing the 
same system in respect of the lateral and corner teeth, the whole 
of the permanent incisors may be brought into the mouth soon 
after four years. The cutting of the tusks at this age is also 
facilitated by fitting a hot iron, cunningly arranged, over the 
points of the teeth which may be just pricking through the 
gum, and thus burning away the structure which would naturally 
almost obscure the organs from view. 
Treated in the manner above described, the horse at four 
years off is accepted as coming five years old ; but the expert is 
well aware that at the age of four years there are eight molar 
teeth which have only just approached the level of the others, 
and these enable him to distinguish with absolute certainty 
between a horse of four and another of five years old. 
The clumsy expedient of excavating the centres of the teeth 
of old horses, and blackening the cavity thus made by means of 
a hot iron to represent the lost mark, is not likely to deceive 
any one who is familiar with the anatomy of the teeth, and the 
operation, which is dignified by the term " Bishoping," from the 
name of its inventor, is too laborious to be often performed ; 
indeed, it may be allowed that the tricks which are played with 
horses' mouths are not so frequent, or so successful, as to con- 
stitute an important element in the question of the value of the 
evidence of age which is afforded by the teeth. 
It is customary to calculate the ages of all thoroughbreds up 
to January 1, and of other horses to May 1. The terms "off" 
and "coming" are employed with the understanding that they 
mean the addition to or subtraction from the stated age of a few 
months. Thus " three years off" is allowed to mean three years 
and about three months ; and " coming four years," means that 
