JUDGING HORSES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 25 
Two years. — The pinchers and the intermediates indicate that they 
are being crowded by the permanent teeth, as they are pushed free 
from their gums at the base. By the time the colt is two and a half 
years old the middle pinchers should be through. The permanent 
teeth are much larger than the temporary ones. 
Three years. — The middle pinchers are large enough for use. 
Their deep cups show plainly. The milk intermediates are about 
to .be shed. 
Four years. — The permanent intermediates appear at three and a 
half years and are ready for use at four. The corner teeth give 
evidence that the permanent corners are coming. The cups in the 
pinchers are about one-third gone. (The tusks, or canine teeth, of 
male colts may appear about this time.) 
Five years. — The temporary corner teeth are shed at four and a 
half and the permanent ones are ready to use. The horse has now 
what is known as a full mouth, all permanent incisors being ready 
to use. The cups of the first pair are about two-thirds gone. 
Six years. — The cups in the center pair have nearly disappeared. 
In the second pair they are about two-thirds gone. 
Seven years. — The cups from the second pair are now gone. There 
is a notch in the upper corner tooth where it overlaps the lower one. 
Eight years. — The cups having all worn out of the lower nippers, 
we now look at the upper jaw. Although cups remain in the center 
pair, they are not deep. 
Nine years. — The cups in the center pair of nippers on the upper 
jaw have disappeared. They are still present in the other two pairs, 
being fairly deep in the corner ones. 
Ten years. — The cups are worn out of the second pair on the upper 
jaw, although they are still present in the corner pair. 
Older horses. — At 11 years all of the cups are usually worn out 
of the incisors. It becomes necessary now to use some other indica- 
tion of age. Estimation of age is now based upon the angle at 
which the teeth meet, their change in size and shape. As the horse 
gets older, the teeth meet more and more at an acute angle; that is, 
the jaws become more oblique. As the teeth wear down, the shape 
of the worn ends changes from oval to more nearly round and 
finally, in an aged horse, to a nearly triangular form. Students 
should note the difference in the shape of the teeth in younger horses. 
Sometimes cups are cut or burned in the teeth of old horses to make 
their mouths resemble those of younger animals. This practice, 
known as " Bishoping," may be detected if the shape of the tooth 
and the absence of the ring of enamel which surrounds the natural 
cup are noted. After a horse is 12 years old its condition is more 
important than its age in determining values. 
