LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. iJ:7r.t (Jij{itjrigl|l f n. Shelf ^ g/l UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. T I^ DB AGE OF HORSES By Their Teeth AND The Mewment of tliE Kina of k M ,S' '' AND OTHER NOTED HORSES. R U FU S BRO W N •ii. "''1^ \ I^PtlCE, $l-00 Copyright entered aecordinof to act of Congress in the year 1880, by Rufus Brown, in the offioe of the Librarian of Congreps at VVashinofon. '^12^-6^' The Bartlett Pictorial Printing House, 20 & 22 Seneca St., Bupfalo, N. Y. 1880. INTRODUCTION. There are few persons, even among the veterenary surgeons or horse dealers who are able to determine the age of a horse, after it has attained its eighth year; how much less then can it be expected that those should do so, who have never made it a study. Horse dealers are frequently accused of deceiving purchasers m the age of horses when they themselves were deceived. The purpose of this book is to set aside this decep- tion and to enable all, both sellers and buyers, even those who never knew anything about the age of a horse to discover for themselves with accuracy the age of any horse. n FOAL TEETH. At the age of 2i years the teeth begin to change, and those which then appear are per- manent Horse teeth. Fig. l.—h Year Old. This cut represents the lower jaw of a half year old foal. By observing the inside, it will be preceived that, both the outer and inner edge of the nippers are worn, but of the middle teeth only the outer edge, while the corner teeth have not yet come into contact. 1, 1, The Nippers. 2, 2, The Middle teeth. 3, 3, The Corner teetli. Fig. IL— 1 Year Old. Shows the lower jaw at a year old, where the edges of nil thie incisors are partly worn by friction, and the inner edge of the corner teeth remain uninjured, Fig. III.— 2 Year Old. Shows the lower jaw at 2 years old; the nippers and middle teeth are worn down to the extent of the marks in the teeth, the inner edg-e of the corner teeth are also worn. 8 Fig. 1Y. — Shows a Nipper after the Cut- ting OF THE Horse Incisor. Fig. 4. IT I. — Shows^ a' nippor at the age of 3 years, 1 and 2 is its breadth, 3 and 4 its thickness. II. — As it appe^irs [at tlie age ol 6 years, where merely a trace of the dis- appearing mark is visible, the breadth, 1 and 2, decreases, and 'increases in thickness, 3 and 4. III.^ — As it appears at 12 years, as thick as broad. It has become round* IV. — As at 18 years, a triangular surface, V. — As it appears at the age of 24 years, twice as thick, 3 and 4, as broad, 1 and 2. 9 The form of a permanent ni[)per may be thus de^crihed. Tlie mon^ it loses n) lenij^th bv friction the more it als(t loses in width, so that the nearer the fi'iction surface approaches to the end of the root, the narrower and thicker it must app(\u'. A full trrown stallion or gelding has 40 and a mare 30 real teeth; the former have 4 hook or commonl}^ called bridle teeth, which are wanting in the latter, although sometimes in place of the hooks small stumps similar to teeth are found. In some young horses are found what are called Wolfs teeth which are not included in this number because they are not real teeth and are found next to the first double teeth and should always be extracted as soon as ob- served. The 4 hook or bridle teeth are seated alone, iieirer to the corner teeth on the lower than on the upper jaw; so that they never come in contact with each other. The whole number of teeth does not be- come complete and perfect until the horse has attained the age of 41 or 5 years. We have now shown in what manner the age of a foal can be ascertained until it reaches the ag3 of two years. The following will ex- 10 plain how the age of a horse which does not average over 30 vears can with certainty he ascertained. We will take the teeth of horses of a medium size as a standard, and from the rules laid down for these, we can calculate the age under other circumstances. Large horses, it is evident, have larger teeth than small ones, hut tiie age of hoth can be ascertained by the same rule as thatjaid down for those of medium size. Large horses' teeth protrude 1 or 2 lines more above the gums than smaller ones. After the newly changed tooth has arrived at its proper length it shoots up a line regularly every year and if the teeth stand rightly the grinder wears off a line every year. A line is one twelfth of an inch. Should the teeth stand too far forward they do not wear down in the same proportion as they slioot upwards. This is however no hinderance in ascertaining the age. At the age of 5 years the corner teeth of the lower jaw have grcnvn up to 5 lines above the gum, each middle tooth 7, and each nip- per 9 lines. At 8 years of age and older, each corner tooth of the same horse projects only 4, the middle teeth G, and the nippers 8 lines above the gums. This is very important, in fact necessary, to be known because it is the only means, by which one can decide with certainty 11 upon the age of a horse whose teeth at an ad" vanced age have become longer than they would have done by proper wear. We will first describe in what manner the age of a horse can be ascertained b\^ those teeth which wear down just in the same proportion as they shoot upwards, and consequently retain their {)ro}»er height above the gum. Fig. v.— 2i Years Old. This cut shows the lower jaw at 2h years old, the two nippers breaking through as horse teeth and the remaining (4) foal teeth show a smooth friction surface. 12 Fig. VI.— 3 J Years Old. Represents a lower jaw at 3 J years of age. The two middle foal teeth disapear, the real horse teeth take their ])hi,ce. Fig. VII. -4a Years Old. The lower jaw at 42 years of age^ the foal teeth all disapear, the corner teeth, and, hooks 13 breaking-.thr(»ugl], the nippers worn down at both edges, the Middle teeth only on the outer edges. Fig YIIL— 5 Years Old. Shows a lower jaw at 5 years of age the nippers with their marks almost entirely worn out, the middle teeth showing marks partially worn, the corner ones with the mark plainly seen but the edges partly worn. The hooks are full grown but are not worn away in the least. u Fig. IX.— 6 Years Old. At 6 years the nippers with the marks worn out, the middle teeth with the marks disappearing, the corner ones showing the marks plainly but with the edges of the cavity considerably worn The Hooks in discovering the age of a horse are not to be relied on, the signs they present can only be considered useful, when they agree with those of other teeth. 15 Fig. X.— 7 Years Old. Shows the lower jaw at 7 years , the middle teeth worn to a plane surface, the corner teeth still showing a small covity. The hooks have lost more of their edges and their pointed ends have become more rounded. 16 A Lower jaw at 8 years of age in which the incisor have all become equally w^orn and in the corner teeth merely a trace of the dis- appearing mark is visible, is shown in the following illustration: Fig. XI.—8 Years Old. The edges of the hooks are worn down; almost to half their height. The Marks in the upper teeth are as deep again as those in the under ones and consequently wear as long again. 17 Fig. XII.— 9 Years Old. Represents the upper jaw at 9 years old. the nippers showing a slight remnant of the mark, the middle and corner teeth still show the marks. Fig. XIIL 18 -10 Years Old. Slows an upper jaw at 10 years of age, the nipptrs worn to a plane surface, the middle teeth still showing a slight mark. 4;pffl^xFiG. XIV.— 11 Years Old. 4;S^Sfe An upper jaw at 11 years old, the Middle teeth worn to a plane surface, the corner ones showing a slight cavity. 19 Fig. XV.— 12 Yeaes Old. The Lower jaw at 12 years of age, the nippers are as thickas Broad, they have become round. Fig XVL— 13 Years Old. Shows a lower jaw at 13 years the nippers and middle teeth are perfectly rounded. The 20 corner ones increase in thickness, and the hooks have become bhmt. Fig. XVII.— 14 Years Old. At 14 years of age the corner teeth of the lower jaw are round. Fig. XVIII.— 15 Years Old. At 15 years of age in which the nippers in the upper jaw are rounded. f21 ded. Fig. XIX.— 16 Years Old. At 16 years the middle teeth are also roun- Fig. XX.— 17 Ykars Old. At 17 years of age the corner teeth of the' upper jaw are also rounded. 22 Fig. XXL— 18 Years Old. At 18 years the nippers of the upper jaw are triangular. Fia XXIL— 19 Years Old. At 19 years of age the middle tee^ assume the same triangular appearance. 23 Fig. XXIII.— 20 Years Old. At 20 years of age the corner teeth of the lower jaw assume the same form. Fig. XXIV.— 21 Years Old. At 21 years the nippers of the upper jaw are also triangular. Fig. XXV —22 Years Old. At 22 years the middle teeth of the upper jaw are also triangular. Fig. XXVI.— 23 Years Old. At 23 years of age the corner teeth of the upper jaw are triangular. 25 Fig. XXVII.— 24 Years Old. At 24 years of age the nippers in the lower jaw are twice as thick 3 and 4, as broad 1 and 2, as represented in fig. 4. Fig. XXVIII.— 25 Years Old. At 25 years the middle teeth assume the same form. 26 Fig. XXIX.— 26 Years Old. At 26 years of age the corner teeth of the lower jaw are also twice as thick as broad the upper jaw from the age of 26 to 29 assume the same form as those of the lower jaw from 23 to 26 at the age of 29 the corner teeth of the upper jaw are twice as thick as Broad The foregoing plainly shows, that so long as the teeth retain their proper length, there is no difficulty in discerning the age of a horse. We will prove that the age of a horse which have irregular teeth, can also be ascer- tained. We have seen that the teeth shoot up a line every year, but do not wear down in the same degree, when they stand too far forward in the mouth, in order to discover the age of a horse with such teeth, it is necessary to observe the mark narrowly, for instance suppose, the mark on the surface of the teeth shows 8 years but the teeth are 4 lines too long for that age; it follows that the horse has lived 12 years. 27 Fig. XXX.— 20 Years Old. Shows the front and side of a lower jaw which is 12 lines too long, the marks shows 8 years, but as the teeth has shot up a line each year and has not worn down, one must add the 12 superfluous lines to the 8 years shown by the marks we shall thus arrive at the age of the horse 20 years. 28 FiG.XXXL— 20 Years Old. Represents the same lower jaw of 20 years viewed from the inside. The friction surface shows 8 years. Fig. XXXII —20 Years Old. If the superfluous length be removed one can see the friction of 20 years on the surface. 29 Fig. XXXTTL— 20 Yeat^s Old. Shows a lower jaw in whicli tlie teeth are 10 lines to loong*. The distance from the gum lo No. 1 is the natural height of the teeth as at 5 years of age when first conienced to wear, one line is one twelfth ; art of an inch. 30 Fig. XXXIV.— 20 Years Old. Is an inside view of the same jaw, shows a mark of 6 years on the surface, the teeth are 10 lines too long, its age is 16 years. 31 There are men who stive to make horses appear younger than they are, by cutting off' all of tlie nippers with a saw to the proper length, and theii with a cutting instrument, the operator scoopes out a cavity in tlie corner nippers wliich is afterwards burnt wdth a hot iron until it is quite black, this is however' easy of detection as a tooth of 16 years of age is not sufficiently broad to admit of such a mark, also the entire enamel would be distur- bed. There are also crib biters which by wear- ing out their front teeth appear a few years older than they really are. The age of these can be ascertained by their corner teeth, which are very seldom injured; should this be the case however then as many lines as are want- ing to make the natural length must be deduc- ted and the horse is as many years younger, as the teeth are lines too short. In all the works which has been pub- lished on this subject the writer have only ex- plained the variation in the teeth until the 8tli or 9th year. Having examined both, living and dead horses, I have convinced myself that the age of a horse may be ascertained with the same accuracy after the 8th or 9th year as before. 32 Measurements. Measurements or points of a horse which denote speed is shown in the following table. To a person starting out to purchase a horse nothing can be of greater value than the knowdedge of those points. A standard is need- ed by which th-e buyer may measure the sever- al animals inspected. The following table gives the measurement of St. Julien the King of the Turf, Dexter and Leviathan, also the time or records they have made: St.Julien. Dexter. Leviathan. Inche*^. niches. Inches. Height, of Withers («J^ 62 Hi Length oJ head 2H]4 21 '£]% Length of neck 30 25 30 Uound the muzzle 20 19 18i^ Round swell of Jaw.s 32 33 20> Length of back 28 23 18 From hif) to hip over the loin.. 24 19 19 Round tliebody at girth T.^!^ 68% 72 Round the flank over the loin. 70 65 72 Elbow toground 3'i Su% SV/i Hound Die arm at SMH'll 21 19]^ 22 Round the knee 13 13 12)^ Round the hock 17 1V4 Ui% Round canu' n, uiidway 8% 8 9 Rouhd cannon, hindleg 9% 814 ^14 Point ol hip to point of hock. . 11 4u% 42 Pointofshoulder to pt buttock 04 62 69 Round neck at tne head 2^14 3l% 8o Round head at the bodj' 45 42'a 47 Round the barrel 79 71 From point to point of shoulder 16 13 Length of hip 22 22 Time 2.11i^ 2.17!^ 2.30 These Books For Sale at HORSEMENS' HEADQUARTERS. a o =^ ><; Cic 0: ?^ ^ ti. s. r« ~* ^ •> -~ •--. o '' ' s '^; ^ O *-^ ^ 0: (-• •^ s •^ K i-^ O ^ PLEASURE, BUSINESS AND TROTTING HORSE FURNISHING GOODS. NEURASTHENlPrONSKELESTERIZO. 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