THE FREQUENT UNCERTAINTY OF THE SUPPOSED 
AGE OF THE HORSE. 
By W. J. Goodwin, Esq. V.S. to the Queen. 
At a meeting of the Jockey Club, held June 17, 1844, the fol- 
lowing resolution was passed : — “ When the age or qualification of 
a horse is objected to, either before or after running for any race in 
which he is engaged, the stewards, or those whom they may ap- 
point, being members of the Jockey Club, shall have power to 
order an examination of the horse’s mouth by competent persons, 
and to call for all such evidence as they may require, and their 
decision shall be final, unless they think fit to recommend that the 
question in dispute be carried into a court of law.” 
With this new rule, I send for your inspection — and you are wel- 
come to shew them to all who may be curious to see them — the 
casts of two three- year old mouths. I beg to remind you, that 
they are casts, and not models, and consequently are most faithful 
representations of the mouths themselves. These casts were taken 
in the early part of last December from the colts’ mouths by Mr. 
Tuson, and which had been in much the same state for two months 
previous, about which time I happened accidentally to observe 
them. 
You will perceive that one of the mouths has four full-grown 
incisor teeth in each jaw, the corner milk-teeth only remaining, 
and the tushes coming through. The other mouth has but two 
incisor teeth in each jaw, with four perfect milk-teeth, and no ap- 
pearance of tushes ; in fact, the former representing as fairly a 
four-year old mouth as the latter does that of a three-year old. 
The colts whose mouths are thus represented were foaled in the 
paddocks at Hampton Court in March 1841 : they were weaned 
together, were fed upon the same food, were taken up together, 
and were in every particular similarly treated, and yet the older 
looking mouth was foaled a week after the other. 
At my invitation the colts were examined by several .members 
of the profession, and by many persons familiar with the mouth. 
The record of all their opinions would have sadly puzzled the most 
enlightened judge or the most intelligent jury. Mr. Percivall saw 
them, amongst others, and writes thus : — 
“ I was much gratified the other day by the inspection of the 
three-year old mouths. I certainly should not have imagined, or 
perhaps ever believed on any other evidence than matter of fact, 
that the colts had been foaled within some months, much less 
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