24 
BULLETIN 487, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
eial attention should be given the trot or pace according to the direc- 
tions given under the description of the draft horse. The light horse 
should not come down on his heels in a pronounced manner. 
ESTIMATING THE AGE OF A HORSE. 
Every student should learn to estimate the age of a horse. When 
a horse is scored each student should put his estimate of the horse's 
age upon the card. Horses of different ages should be selected in 
order that the student may note their development and have prac- 
tice in estimating ages. (Fig. 15.) 
Until a horse is over 10 years old the teeth furnish an indication 
of age which is fairly accurate. In estimating the age of a horse 
we consider only the 
three pairs of front 
teeth or nippers on 
each jaw. Horses, 
like human beings, 
have two sets of 
teeth: the first set, 
known as milk teeth, 
being replaced by 
permanent teeth. 
Xew teeth have deep 
cups, or indenta- 
tions, at their cen- 
ters. As the teeth 
wear down these 
cups disappear. 
A colt does not 
usually get its first 
pair of nippers until 
it is a few days old, 
and has all three 
pairs by the time it 
is 6 to 10 months old. Until a colt is 3 years old, its general appear- 
ance is relied upon largely as an indication of its age. The follow- 
ing descriptions, with the accompanying illustrations, are intended 
to aid the student in getting an idea of the condition of a horse's 
mouth by years: 
One year. — The center pair of milk incisors, known as the pinch- 
ers, and the pair next to them, known as the intermediates, are well 
through the gums and in contact, but the corner pairs do not vet- 
meet on a level. 
indicated by teeth. 
Longitudinal section of left central lower incisor and 
cross sections of same tooth, showing table surfaces as 
they appear at the ages of 3, 5, 7, 9. 15, 20, and 25 years. 
C, Cement : I, infundibulum ; D, dentine ; K, cup ; S, star ; 
E, enamel ; P, pulp cavity. ' 
