Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

oe ligatures have been expanded.

The footnote in Paragraph #35 on page 69 (the only one in the book) was moved to follow the paragraph from which it is referenced.

Eight pages of advertisements that preceded the title page have been moved to the end of the book and placed before the two pages of advertisements that closed the book.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

More detail can be found at the end of the book.

THE HORSE'S MOUTH, SHOWING THE AGE BY THE TEETH.

CONTAINING A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE PERIODS WHEN THE TEETH ARE CUT; THE APPEARANCES THEY PRESENT; THE TRICKS TO WHICH THEY ARE EXPOSED; THE ECCENTRICITIES TO WHICH THEY ARE LIABLE; AND THE DISEASES TO WHICH THEY ARE SUBJECT.

BY EDWARD MAYHEW, M. R. C. V. S.

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL OF The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,

AND EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS FROM DRAWINGS MADE EXPRESSLY FOR THE WORK, AND TAKEN FROM AUTHENTICATED MOUTHS; WITH THIRTY-TWO WOOD-CUTS, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LETTER-PRESS.

FOURTH EDITION.

LONDON: MESSRS. FORES, 41, PICCADILLY.

TO THE

PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL

OF THE

ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS,

THIS WORK

IS (BY PERMISSION) RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

BY THEIR OBLIGED AND

VERY OBEDIENT SERVANTS,

THE PUBLISHERS.

41, _Piccadilly_.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

COLOURED ENGRAVINGS. Page. Frontispiece--The Head of a Horse with the teeth exposed Nine months old, and 2 years old 70 Three years old, and 3 years off 80 Rising 4 years, and 4 years old 82 Rising 5 years, and 5 years old 94 Five years off, and 6 years off 96 Seven years off, and 8 years off 104 Twelve years old, and 20 years old 112 Sixteen years old, and 30 years old 120

WOOD CUTS.

Section of an incisor tooth 21 Arrangement of the substances composing a molar tooth 26 View of a molar tooth 29 A permanent and temporary incisor tooth 48 Molar tooth about to be shed 62 Molar tooth recently cut 62 Table of the 3 year old incisor tooth 79 Table of the 3 year off incisor tooth 79 Tables of the incisor teeth at 4 years off 85 Tables and arrangement of the incisor teeth rising 5 years 92 Tables and arrangement of the incisor teeth at 5 years old 95 Tables and arrangement of the incisor teeth at 6 years old 99 Tables and arrangement of the incisor teeth at 7 years off 103 Tables of the incisor teeth at 8 years off 106 Tables of the incisor teeth at 9 years old 109 Tables of the incisor teeth at 10 years old 110 Tables of the incisor teeth at 12 years old 112 Tables of the incisor teeth at 14 years old 112 Tables of the incisor teeth at 16 years old 115 Tables and arrangement of the incisor teeth at 28 years old 119 Tables and arrangement of the incisor teeth at 29 years old 120 Tables of the incisor teeth at 30 years old 121 Irregularity in the growth of the corner incisor tooth 140 A parrot mouth 147 Changes caused by a diseased tooth 175 Mr. Gowing's tooth forceps 183 The lever to ditto 184 The forceps, fixed 185 Mr. Gowing's framed chisel 188 Mr. Gowing's guarded chisel 190 Mr. Gowing's repeller for the guarded chisel 191 Mr. Gowing's lateral repeller for the guarded chisel 193

CONTENTS.

Par. Page.

1. That the teeth of the horse denote the age of the animal &c. 1

2. In every case the evidence of the teeth is secondary to direct and substantiated testimony; &c. 3

3. Some of the causes which induce certain persons to doubt &c. 4

4. The teeth more frequently contradict an arbitrary calculation than disagree with fact. 7

5. For the security of the purchaser of a horse, not connected with the turf, the teeth are a sufficient guard, &c. 10

6. The description of the teeth &c. 14

7. The teeth are situated &c. 15

8. The teeth are organised, &c. 16

9. The horse possesses forty teeth, &c. 16

10. Three substances enter into the composition of the horse's tooth. 18

11. The crusta petrosa &c. 18

12. The enamel &c. 20

13. The ivory &c. 20

14. The uses of the ivory, enamel, and crusta petrosa &c. 22

15. The separate uses of the three component structures, &c. 24

16. The various parts and peculiarities of form, &c. 32

17. There are infundibula also in the molar teeth, &c. 35

18. To distinguish an upper from a lower molar tooth &c. 36

19. The teeth of the horse are very firmly implanted in the jaws, &c. 37

20. The molars of the lower jaw are the active agents of mastication, &c. 37

21. Provision has been made by Nature to meet the wear to which the horse's teeth are subjected. 38

22. The cavity of the pulp &c. 42

23. Nature provides the horse with two sets of teeth. 43

24. To know the temporary from the permanent teeth, &c. 46

25. To recognise a milk incisor tooth &c. 46

26. The permanent incisors are indicated by their greater size, &c. 49

27. The temporary cannot be well distinguished from the permanent molars, while the horse is alive. 51

28. The various points which denote youth &c. 52

29. The indications of age &c. 53

30. The incisor teeth in old age, &c. 54

31. Some judges depend upon the tushes as indicative of the age, &c. 57

32. The wolf's teeth or eye teeth aid us in judging of the age; &c. 59

33. The mode in which the horse cuts his teeth &c. 60

34. The manner of examining the teeth &c. 65

35. At birth &c. 69

36. At six weeks, &c. 69

37. At six months, &c. 69

38. At nine months old, the corner milk teeth are up, but their edges do not yet meet. 70

39. At one year, &c. 70

40. At eighteen months, &c. 71

41. At two years old, there is a full mouth of milk incisors, all of which show considerable wear. 71

42. At three years old, the centre horse teeth are well up, and are distinguished by their size, shape, and colour. 72

43. At three years off, the lateral milk teeth are shed, and the permanent teeth are coming up. 80

44. When rising four years old the lateral horse teeth are in the mouth, but their edges do not fairly meet. 81

45. At four years, four pair of horse teeth are well up, but the corner milk teeth are retained. 82

46. When rising five years old all the horse teeth are in the mouth, but the corner teeth have yet to meet. 90

47. At five years old there is a full mouth of horse incisors, all the edges of which fairly meet. 94

48. At five years off the corner teeth only show slight wear, and the posterior margins are round. 95

49. At six years of age the corner teeth look more firmly set, and their edges begin to be uneven; &c. 97

50. At seven years off, the corner teeth, without showing age, exhibit further evidence of wear. 99

51. At eight years off, the gum of the lower corner tooth has become square, and the lower tush blunt. 104

52. After the eighth year, &c. 106

53. At twelve years old, there may be tartar on the lower tush. The teeth are longer, narrower, and the enamel darker. 110

54. At sixteen years old, when the teeth are viewed from the side, only two incisors can be seen in the lower jaw, &c. 112

55. At twenty years old, the form of the mouth has changed, and the lower teeth are imperfectly seen from the front. 115

56. At thirty years old, the jaws are contracted; the lower are not seen when the upper teeth are in view. 117

57. The tricks that are practised on the teeth, &c. 123

58. The irregularities of growth in the horse's teeth &c. 138

59. The diseases to which the teeth of the horse are subjected, &c. 149

60. The agents which are likely to injure the teeth, &c. 177

61. The instruments used in connexion with the teeth of the horse &c. 181

PREFACE.

When submitting to the reader this my first work on Veterinary Science, I cannot forbear from addressing to him a few remarks, in the hope of explaining some of those peculiarities which it may appear to present.

At a period of life, when many men retire from active business, I commenced the study of a new profession. My mind was not prepared to receive instruction through the ordinary process, and I was, by necessity, obliged to be, in a great measure, my own tutor. I found that I could learn only through observation, and this circumstance led me into inquiries which often left me in opposition with established opinions. Hence many of the facts announced in the following pages are new, and not very much contained in them is strictly accordant with the acknowledged authorities. The latter circumstance I may regret, but I have no apology to offer for it. My convictions are derived from the study of Nature, and are conclusions gained from a higher source than conjecture or opinion sanctioned by time or approved by professors.

Short as may have been my experience, nothing herein set down will be found which is not the result of practice, or the consequence of reasoning. Perhaps a longer professional existence would have given more weight to that which is either novel in its announcement, or may appear to be bold in its assurance. Truth, however, is speedily read by those who are intent on deciphering it, and facts are not rendered more clear to the mental vision by years of conventional dependence.

The teaching of our English Veterinary School has, for too long a period, been traditional; what one had said, he who succeeded him repeated, and when I entered as a pupil, there existed no spirit of inquiry, or thought of extending the boundaries of knowledge. To what a degree an evil system had been established, I may here state as an instance, that in the first horse which I dissected, I was able to demonstrate the existence of four muscles that had previously been unnoticed by my teachers.

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising if a fresh intruder, on a comparatively unexplored soil, did turn up something which, though it laid near to the surface, had not before been exposed. On the teeth, my investigations began from the beginning; and though I cannot but say I have been greatly assisted by the information derived from the labours of previous writers, yet I have, in every instance, accepted their assertions only after I had tested them, and found them to be correct.

To the members of my profession, I am deeply indebted. When they knew the subject on which I was engaged, each volunteered to aid me, and generously gave me the benefit of that experience, which personally I was unfortunate in not possessing. It was acknowledged, that upon the teeth, some work which might be depended upon, was sadly needed, and to render the present worthy of the confidence of the public, all to whom I applied cheerfully gave their utmost help. From their cordial communications and disinterested co-operation, I learnt much, and gained many valuable ideas.

_16, Spring Street,_ _Westbourne Terrace._

THE HORSE'S MOUTH,

SHOWING THE AGE

BY

THE TEETH.

1. _That the teeth of the horse denoted the age of the animal_ appears to have been a very ancient belief, which the experience of centuries seems in no degree to have weakened. As a general rule, applied within certain limitations, the impression is certainly well founded; for perhaps no development is more regular than the teeth of the horse, and no natural process so little exposed to the distortions of artifice. We are, nevertheless, not to expect that the animal carries about in its mouth a certificate of birth, written in characters so deep or legible that they cannot be obliterated or misinterpreted. The indications to be discovered by an inspection of the mouth of the horse, however, are so generally true, that in these dependence may be placed; although they are not so arbitrary or invariable, that upon them in every instance an absolute opinion can hastily be pronounced. He who would judge of the age by the teeth, must therefore be content to study and prepared to encounter difficulties. In proportion as he has done the one, and is fortified thereby to overcome the other, will be his success. There is no secret charm which will enable man to unravel Nature's mysteries. Her ways are regular, but they are not uniform--her laws are fixed, but her acts cannot be measured by a system of rule or compass. The qualified judge alone will read the teeth correctly; but in proportion as the task is difficult, will be the candour and caution of him who fulfils it properly. He will make allowance where certain marks are indistinct or absent--he will not feel himself degraded by a confession of inability to speak with certainty when the signs are complex or confused--and above all, he will be cautious before he pronounces a final opinion, and gives it forth as a decision, against which there ought to be no appeal. The Veterinary Practitioner knows from repeated trials, tested by long experience, that the teeth of the horse are worthy of attention; he feels that their indications, scientifically interpreted, will seldom mislead; but he does not regard them with a reverence resembling that originating from an antiquated superstition, or look upon them as the exemplifications of a principle which admits of no exceptions.

2. _In every case the evidence of the teeth is secondary to direct and substantiated testimony_; for as there is no limit to possibility, so no man can be prepared to say what Nature may or may not do. In the absence, however, of positive and corroborated testimony, the teeth become the best evidence, and that on which reliance should be placed. When opposed to the indications of the mouth, the oath of a single individual, for obvious reasons, would be of no weight. A foal can hardly be born without many parties being cognizant of the fact--the colt cannot change its master without several persons being made aware of the transaction--and horses, for honest purposes, are not generally sold or bought in secret. Proof of the age can generally be adduced, if the parties interested think proper to seek it; or when it is not possible to adduce such proof, the teeth deserve more confidence than an uncorroborated assertion. An individual may be interested to mis-state, or may be mistaken in his belief; whereas the teeth, being natural growths, are removed from such suspicions.

3. _Some of the causes which induce certain persons to doubt_ the possibility of the horse's age being accurately told from the teeth, are not difficult to explain away. The Jockey Club has seen reason to declare, that all thorough-bred animals shall be born on the 1st of January, or if any should make their appearances at a later period, such shall be esteemed one year old when the 31st of December has expired. All blood horses have but one birth-day, nor do they in that respect differ from their brethren of the coarser breeds; only those of the last description are supposed to begin their existences upon the 1st of May. If a racer has seen six Januaries, it is said to be six years old; and if a nag had looked upon half a dozen Mays it would be pronounced to be of a similar age. These customs are convenient, as affording a point from which to date the age of an animal; but under such regulations, confusion will and does frequently arise. In a long number of years, a few months may be of little importance; but at the earlier period the difference of several weeks may, in the calculation of the age, be a serious matter. I will endeavour to show how far, in an extreme case, confusion may be created by the operation of these customs, and to prove, that he who should read the teeth correctly, would be unable to satisfactorily pronounce the accepted age of a colt. According to the received laws, a blood foal dropt on the 31st of December, and a foal not thorough-bred, born on the 30th of April, would each, the second day of life, complete the first year of its existence. Let it be supposed that a blood mare bore a foal in the latter end of December--the animal would be entered in the stud book according to the year of its birth, but for obvious reasons could never be put into training; it would be kept until another January arrived, when, although but one year and a few days of age, it could, in strict accordance with the established custom, be sold as a two-year-old; and the entry being in the stud book, of course the point would not be disputed. The colt is bought and taken into an ordinary stable, where all the horses not being thorough-bred advance a year when the 1st of May appears; and when that day dawns, the blood colt, not eighteen months of age, rising with the rest, is called three years off. Now in such a case, the man who judged by the teeth would be certain to be wrong; and if it is possible under any circumstances for truth to be discredited, we may imagine that many apparent mistakes would, on inquiry, be cleared up. The age of a horse is seldom correctly stated even in a court of law. Witnesses swear by the customs of men, and it never seems to occur to them that Nature has not yet given in her adherence to the codes by which their consciences are narcotized. Horses are born at all times and seasons. The regular breeder, it is true, takes care towards the observance of the regulations; but all who may think proper to have "a foal out of the old mare when she's done up for work," are by no means nice in that particular. Stallions are paraded for "service" in the autumn, and there are to be found men who will argue stoutly in favour of a "late get."