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Show HOW TO TELL A HORSE'S AGE, j Much Experience Koqulred and Iay Things Have to He Considered. To distinguish merely between the young horse and the old, It Is only necessary to remember a few salient facts. The first Is that the milk teeth ' . are present in the horse's mouth until ' he is between 4 and 5 years old. The second fact is that the "mark," or dark central depression on the surface of the incisors becomes gradually worn out, and in a horse over 8 years old has nearly always disappeared from the teeth of the lower jaw. The third fact Is that the shape of the tooth la much wider from side to side than it is from front to back. As the horse becomes older the surface becomeB progressively pro-gressively narrower, from side to side, and thus, instead of remaining always oblong, it becomes triangular, and then in very old animals flattened from side to side. In young horses, then, we judge the age by observing which of the milk teeth are present, and which have been replaced by perma- Yi" nent ones. To distinguish between the milk teeth and the permanent, remember re-member that the milk teeth are smaller small-er whiter, and have a distinct neck. Until a colt is over 2 years old hia teeth are all milk teeth, and the age is estimated from the amount of wear shown on the crowns of the teeth. Between Be-tween 2 and 3 the first of the permanent perma-nent teeth make their appearance, and push out the middle two teeth in both upper and lower jaws. A horse Is said to be 3 years old when these central cen-tral permanent incisors are fully In wear. During the next summer the second pair of permanent teeth appear, and when they are fully grown and In wear the horse is 4 years old. Between Be-tween i and 5 the last pair makes its appearance, and now the horse has what is called a full mouth. So far both mares and horses are alike, but at or near 5 years old the canines, or "tushes," appear in the male sex only. Up to the end of this period the de- 0 termination of the age is a comparatively compara-tively easy matter, and any one who is at all observant can readily give the age of horses by looking at their teeth. After a full mouth is attained it is a more difficult matter, and the difficulty of accurately telling the age of old horses is greater in proportion to their age. So much Is this the case that it is popularly supposed that it is impossible im-possible to tell the age of horses after they are 8 years old. This may be true to a great extent among the untrained un-trained and inexperienced, but to an expert it is not difficult to tell the age up to 15 years with a fair degree of accuracy, ac-curacy, and after that age to approximate approx-imate it within a couple of years. To do this successfully requires much experience ex-perience and a careful inspection of all visible indications of age. To rely upon one only, such as the "mark," Is to court defeat. All should be observed ob-served the mark, the shape of the teeth, their length and the angle at which they meet those of the other jaw. Pall Mall Gazette. |