The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1917-02-08
Judging Horse s Age.

The government 5 Weekly New
Letter contains the following al
tiele which we print for the bene
fl Of our readers. Cut il out an,
save ii for future reference:
Until horse is over 10 year
old the teeth furnish an indication
Of age which is fairly accurate
IN estimating the age Of a horse
only the three pairs Of front feeff
or nippers on each jaw are con
sidered. Horses, like human be
lngs, have two sets Of teeth; thu
first set, known as milk teeth, be,
ing replaced by permanent teeth
New teeth have deep cups, or IN
denfafions, at their eenters. A
the teeth wear down these cups
disappear.
A colt does not usually get its
first pair Of nippers until il is a
few days old, but has all three
pairs by the time il is 6 to 10
months old. Until a colt is 3
yearssold, however, its general APP
pearance is relied upon largely to
indicate its age. Following is a
description Of the yearly changes
which ordinarily occur IN the
teeth of a horse.
One year.-The center pair Of
milk incisors, known as the PIN
cheers, and the pair mex. to them,
known as the intermediates, are
well through the gums and IN
contact, but the corner pairs do
not yet meet on a level.
Two years. The pinehers and
the intermediates indicate that
they are being crowned By the
permanent teeth, as they are push
ed free from their gums at the
base. BY the time the colt is %
years old the middle pinchers
should be through. The perman-
ent teeth are much larger than
the temporary ones.
Three years.-The middle pin
cheers are large enough for use.
Their deep cups show plainly.
The milk intermediates are about
10 be shed.
-Four years.-The permanent in
termediates appear at 3Ia years
and are ready for use at e. The
corner teeth give evidence that
the permanent corners are coming.
The cups in the pinchers are about
one-third gone. 1.-THE tuSks, or
canine teeth, of male colts may
appear about this time.
Five years.-The temporary |
corner teeth are shed at Az and |
the permanent ones are ready to
use The horse has now what is
known as a full mouth, all perm
anent incisors being ready TO use.
The cups of the first pair are
about two-thirds gone.
Six years.-The cups in the cen
Ter 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 il overlaps the lower
one.
Eight years-The cups having
All worn out of the lower nippers,
we now look at the upper jaw.
cups remain in the cen
Ter pair, they are not deep.
Nine years.-The cups in the
center pair Of nippers on the up
per jaw have disappeared. They
ire still present IN the other two
pairs, being fairly deep in the
corner ones.
Ten years.-The cups are worn
Dut Of the second pair on the up
per jaw, although they are still
present in the corner pair.
Older h0rses.-At IL years all |
# the cups are usually worn out
Il the incisors and it becomes
necessary to use some other indi-
.ation. Estimation Of age may
low be based upon the angle at
which the teeth meet, their change /
n size and shape. As the horse
yets older, the teeth meet more
md more at an acute angle; that
5, the jaw become more oblique
As the teeth wear down, the shape
# the worn ends changes from
wal TO more nearly round and,
inally, in an aged horse, to a tri-
angular form. Sometimes cups .
ire cut or burned in the teeth Of
I'D horses to make their mouths
those of younger ami
nails. This practice, known as
Bishoping, may be detected if
he shape Of the tooth and the
Ibsence of the ring of enamel
which surrounds the natural cupl