Telling the age of the Horse.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 10 April 1913, Page 4

Telling the age of the Horse.

There are lour ways of telling the age of a horse, according to the American Agriculturist—by his teeth, by his ribs, by the flesh on his tail, and by the skin on his check. In a .young horse the cheek skin is soft and elastic, and flies back quickly when raised; in an old one it is lifeless, and goes hack but slowly. Old horses apparently have a wider and more distinct space between their ribs than young horses, and, with age the flesh on the tail shrinks, making the joiuts more distinct than they are on a young horse. Judging by the teetli is a more accurate method. The coming of the temporary teeth iirst and then the permanent ones, the development of maturity, the change in shape on account of wear, the coming of the cups in the teeth, and their wearing away afterwards; and the change in the angle of the meeting of the teeth, from straight together at five years to a sharp angle at twenty—all thc.se are signs by which the experienced horseman ran read accurately the ago of a horse. It must be remembered that the permanent teeth above and helow, come in at the same time, but that the cups above do not wear away until all the cups below are gone. Tt must also be remembered that changes begin at the centre, and continue at the rate of one pair year.