THE TEETH--THEIR NATURAL GROWTH, AND THE ABUSES TO WHICH THEY ARE
LIABLE.
“No legs, no horse,” is, with a particular class, a very familiar
phrase. This assertion, becoming a maxim, has apparently directed
attention in a special manner to the lower extremities. All purchasers
are particular about the legs and feet of an animal; but the teeth are
merely glanced at, to ascertain the age. Such a custom is evidently
wrong; since it would be as true of the organs of mastication as it
is concerning those of locomotion should the horsemen also say, “No
teeth, no horse.” For the creature that is valuable only on account
of its labor, cannot be equal to its toil if it do not consume a
fitting quantity of sustenance. Though the majority combine, as it
were, to pass the teeth over without notice when inspecting the horse,
nevertheless many owners seem to appreciate the value of these organs
to the welfare of the quadruped, it being not uncommon to hear horse
proprietors complain, “the beast cannot eat sufficient for the demand
which is daily made upon its capabilities.”
The animal was sent on this earth provided with every apparatus
necessary to crop, to comminute, and to digest the green verdure of
the earth. Man has seized on and domesticated the body, which is
exquisitely adapted only for special purposes. He works it while in
its infancy, or forces it to labor until the sight is lost and the
limbs are crippled. To fit the creature for his uses, he changes
the character of its food. Artificially-prepared oats and hay, with
various condiments, are used to stimulate the spirit. No one inquires
whether such a diet is the fitting support of the animal. But when
the energy lags, beans, beer, etc. are resorted to as restoratives
for exhaustion. The quadruped, thus treated, men have agreed shall be
aged by the eighth year; but the author has seen very old horses which
had not attained the fifth birthday. Opinion seems to be based upon
the circumstance that, by the time recognized as “aged” in the equine
species, the indications of the teeth do no more than tempt a guess.
The cessation of dental growth, however, does not announce maturity to
be consummated; but man appeals to the teeth as corroborative of his
judgment, without asking himself whether those parts have been doomed
to unnatural wear, and therefore may not have assumed an unnatural
aspect.
The author has not lately seen a specimen of =bishoped teeth=. In
Ireland, such sights obtrude themselves at every horse fair. The
majority of horses are, in that country, sold cheap, most of the
purchasers being clothed in rags. It is a sad feature in the practices
of imposition, that it is always violently rampant where there is the
least certainty of reward.
To fully explain in what bishoping consists, it is necessary to inform
the reader that on the nipping or cutting surfaces of the young horse’s
front teeth there mostly are dark indentations or deep hollows. Below
is presented an enlarged engraving of this portion of a tooth, taken
from the head of that which was a three-year old colt. The dark spot
in the middle of the diagram represents the situation of the hollow
into which the food naturally falls, rendering the interior of the
cavity of a deep color approaching to blackness. Bishoping supposes the
cavity always to be present; invariably to be of one form, and in every
instance to sink to the like depth, which suppositions are contrary
to fact; but even were such rules observed by nature, there are still
means by which the cheat may be detected. Immediately around the
dark-colored space is developed a fine line of enamel, which is always
white. The rogues can counterfeit the black mark, but they cannot
imitate the crystalline white bordering which surrounds the opening.
The presence or absence of this is of more importance, therefore, than
the existence of a black indentation. Again, those who tamper with the
teeth cannot change the shape of the surface on which they work. The
young tooth is wide from side to side, and narrow from the front to the
backward margin. He who ventures where bishoped horses are to be found,
should familiarize his eye with the shape of the youthful organ.
[Illustration:
THREE YEARS OLD.
TWELVE YEARS OLD.
An enlarged view of the difference in form and in aspect which
separates the table of a twelve-year old bishoped nipper from the same
part in the three-year old colt.]
In contrast with the natural tooth, the reader is also presented with
an exaggerated sketch taken from an organ which had been tampered with,
and which was extracted from the head of an animal that had at least
attained its twelfth year. The natural size has been considerably
enlarged, as the author thereby hoped to render the contrast the more
obvious. This last member, it will be remarked, has parted with its
juvenile width, or is now characterized by depth and angularity. The
central cavity, it will also be observed, bears small resemblance
to the natural depression which it is meant to imitate. The color,
moreover, is quite black, and of an even tint throughout, while the
presence of the girding line of enamel cannot be detected.
The difference, however, is more striking, when two full rows of
teeth are placed in contrast one with the other, after the manner in
which they are displayed in the next engraving. In the young mouth,
the incisors are arranged in a gracefully curved line; the posterior
margins of the organ present little peculiarity. In the aged teeth, the
prominent center of these has retracted, while all idea of grace in
the order of their disposal has departed. Each member in the old jaw
evinces an inclination to become equally prominent, and the posterior
borders evince an obvious angularity.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM, SHOWING THE TABLES OF A NATURAL ROW OF
FIVE-YEAR OLD TEETH.]
[Illustration: THE TABLES OF THE BISHOPED TEETH WHICH BELONG TO AN
ANIMAL SIXTEEN YEARS OLD.]
Then, if the marks in each are examined, the central cavities in the
bishoped have jagged edges; while from these indentations arise certain
eccentric lines, which invariably run toward the circumference. Such
lines evidently were not made with any design. They were caused either
by the inaptness of the operator, the coarseness of the tool with which
he worked, or they were provoked by the natural struggles of the animal
that was subjected to a merciless operation. The marks, moreover, are
of a deep-black color; while the lines are remarkable for sometimes
being of a lighter hue than the surface on which they repose.
There are, however, other signs which faithfully denote the age of
the quadruped. The permanent incisors, when first cut, are almost
perpendicular; but as years accumulate, these organs assume a more
horizontal direction. The tushes also, when they first appear in the
mouth, point forward. These members, after a time, become straight; but
as age progresses, they ultimately lean decidedly outward and at length
incline backward. Besides these well-marked indications, from the
disposition of the front nippers to arrange themselves in a line, only
two can be seen in old quadrupeds when the mouth is viewed from the
side; while the membrane covering the gums altogether loses its fleshy
hue, becoming evidently thick, yellow, loose and baggy.
[Illustration: THE JAW OF A HORSE WHICH WAS THIRTY YEARS OF AGE.]
Such marked signs may, by many persons, be esteemed sufficient
protection; but there are yet additional characteristics with which all
who venture to purchase horses of unknown sellers should be acquainted.
The general indications of senility are strongly impressed both upon
man and upon horse; though the teeth are usually appealed to, the
appearance of the mouth should not be absolutely and solely regarded. A
white horse is rarely young, any more than a white-haired man is, as a
rule, in the possession of youth. Then, as the juvenile period ceases,
absorption begins to operate. Deposit no longer takes place; but with
senility a rapid wasting ensues; both bones and flesh suffer under this
new action.
The branches of the colt’s lower jaw are wide apart, and in the cavity
thus formed the tongue reposes. This space is called the “channel.”
The lower margins, also, of the inferior maxillæ are in the colt full,
round, and prominent. When age is present, the edges retract, the
channel narrows, while the lower margins of the bones appear to the
fingers of the examiner, accustomed to handle young horses, to be
positively sharp.
[Illustration:
A YOUNG HORSE.
AN OLD HORSE.
Comparative difference in the channels or in the spaces between the
branches of the lower jaws.]
When a person having a horse to sell talks boastfully of all “the
marks” being present in the mouth, avoid him as a suspicious
individual. Honest men know, or at least all honest men should by
this time be aware, that there is no dependence to be placed in these
so-called “marks;” therefore they do not strive to direct attention
toward fallacious indications. By simply parting the lips of the
animal, a judge can see everything which he cares to behold. The kind
of teeth present are easily recognized; or when such signs declare the
animal to be aged, the position of the teeth, the condition of the
bones, and the general aspect enable him to guess as to a probability.
Therefore, when a gentleman requests to see the mouth, the horse
dealer, unless specially commanded to do so, no longer endeavors to tug
the jaws asunder, a proceeding which, when conducted hastily, is apt
to provoke resistance; but the groom is ordered to merely separate the
lips, a measure to which most animals will complacently submit.
[Illustration: SHOWING THE HORSE’S TEETH.]
Should the person to whom the teeth are exhibited, by an evident lack
of recognition declare his ignorance of their announcement, the honest
dealer may slyly quiz his patron’s want of knowledge; but assuredly he
will not endeavor to take advantage of it. The author of the present
volume has found the dealers in horse flesh to be quite as honest as,
if not more honest than, traders in less perishable commodities. There
are certain blackguards who profess to be dealers in horses, but who
have no fixed place of abode or of business. So also there are scamps
who style themselves traveling jewelers and itinerant booksellers; but
the transactions of neither class of rogues (he whose stock-in-trade
consists of a whip, or they whose most valuable possession is the
mahogany box or the specimen number which is carried from house to
house) can be taken as evidence against the more respectable members of
the calling to which all will assume to belong. A gentleman, ignorant
of any acquaintance with jockeyship, can walk with perfect safety into
the yard of any respectable dealer; look at the animals which are for
sale, and walk out again, without encountering any undue solicitation
to purchase. How many shops are there in London, in which a person,
equally uninformed, could perform the like manœuvre?
When this is written, it is not meant to imply that a horse dealer
keeps all his stock open to public inspection. On the contrary, in most
respectable yards there are certain snuggeries which conceal the more
choice articles. The pick of these are not even open to every purchaser
who can pay the price. No! Horse and picture dealers are alike in one
characteristic trait: each has a pride in the article he sells. The
first individual will allow his dinner to grow cold, while he remains
gloating over the points and beauties of some fresh acquisition. “How
it would look carrying Her Majesty!” The image amuses his fancy! “What
a spanker to hold a first place in the Beaufort hunt!” He warms with
the idea! “What a charger it would make for Cambridge at a Hyde Park
Review!” He is in ecstasies at the thought! He cannot possibly decide
what so much perfection is fit for. He can never consent to treat
such loveliness as a mere chattel,--a thing to be sold and then to
be enveloped in obscurity. The animal must not be parted with to any
unknown individual! The feeling common to his order forbids him to
exhibit the object of his pride to general inspection. But he might
dispose of it, even at a sacrifice, were he convinced it would occupy
such a position as he esteems it is fitted to adorn. He then could
point to the animal and vaunt that it came from his yard. Honor,
fame, and profit must accrue to him who could refer to such exalted
dealings;--therefore there is a strong sense of self lurking under that
which at first glance appears to be mere Quixotic denial of self.
At the same time, if all respectable dealers are above positive
imposition, it is not every dealer who will prevent a self-conceited
novice from imposing upon himself. Such a person, acting upon his
own judgment, may be allowed to purchase the worst screw which some
yard contains, at the money that should procure a first-rate animal.
Even then, the dealer has an escape, which every form of worldly
honesty will not provide. The quadruped, if not approved of, can be
exchanged within the fortnight following the transaction. To be sure,
such exchanges generally advantage only one party: but a tradesman
must live; he cannot be expected to waste hours showing his stock and
chattering with fools for no business purpose!
However, to protect the reader from every chance of imposition, so far
as the age of the horse may be concerned, let him attentively accompany
the author through the following pages; let him also particularly
notice the engravings with which the text is illustrated.
A foal at birth has three molars or grinding teeth, just through the
gums, upon both sides of the upper and of the lower jaws. The little
animal, however, generally displays no incisors or front teeth; but the
gums are inflamed and evidently upon the eve of bursting. The molars or
grinders are, as yet, unflattened or have not been rendered smooth by
attrition. The lower jaw, moreover, when the inferior margin is felt,
appears to be very thick, blunt, and round.
[Illustration: THE FOAL’S JAW AT BIRTH.]
A fortnight has rarely elapsed before the membrane ruptures, and
two pairs of front, very white teeth begin to appear in the mouth.
At first, these new members look disproportionately large to their
tiny abiding-place; and when contrasted with the reddened gums at
their base, they have that pretty, pearly aspect which is the common
characteristic of the milk teeth in most animals. They must occasion
pain to the foal at this period: the appearance of the little mouth
affords sufficient evidence of that fact; but it is astonishing how
meekly these beautiful creatures will submit to our examinations of
their teeth,--as though they came into the world possessed of all
confidence in man’s intentions and with every dependence upon his
sympathy. Some of the diminutive strangers seem even to derive pleasure
from their irritable gums being inspected. They behave almost as though
they recognized their future master and felt flattered by his notice.
Alas! that brutality should ever repel the trustfulness of nature,
and that experience should instruct most of our mute fellow-beings to
regard mankind as enemies.
[Illustration: THE INCISORS AT TWO WEEKS OLD.]
[Illustration: THE INCISORS AT SIX WEEKS OLD.]
It is not until another month has passed, or until the foal is six
weeks old, that more teeth appear. By that time, much of the swelling
present on the gums of the newly-born animal has softened down,
though all trace of it cannot be said to have entirely departed. The
membrane, as time progresses, will have to resign much of its scarlet
hue. In the brief period, however, which has elapsed since the former
teeth were gazed at, the growth has been such that the sense of very
disproportionate size no longer remains. The two front teeth are now
fully up, and these appear almost of proportions suited to the mouth
which they adorn. But when the two pairs of lateral incisors first
make their appearance, it is in such a shape as can imply no assurance
of their future form. They resemble the corner nippers, and do not
suggest the smallest likeness to the lateral incisors which they will
ultimately become.
The foal, during the first six weeks of its existence, does not learn
to appreciate, at its just value, that which poets have termed “the
milk of human kindness.” A little shyness, however, exhibited about
this period shows that doubt has partially shaken the confidence with
which the appointed master was formerly welcomed. But the little being
is still docile; it does not altogether avoid mankind. It will yet
accept their caresses, permit patiently their mercenary inspections,
acting as though its mild disposition, the natural inheritance of its
tribe, derived actual pleasure and amusement by submitting to the will
of him whom it must shortly recognize as an earthly tyrant.
Why should not the primary lessons of domestication be now gently
commenced, when the spirit requires not to be subdued and the temper
needs not to be conquered? Is there not unnecessary cruelty in the plan
which is commonly adopted? The young life is allowed to roam at large
till the time arrives when man conceives the colt ought to be “_broken
in_.” There is no gradual instruction; no endeavor to coax or to soothe
by a display of gentleness. Obedience is remorselessly wrenched out
of the being. Harshness naturally engenders resistance; but increased
severity is employed, till the willing creature is literally conquered
and its spirit “broken.” This is done to an animal which is born
anxious to please its superior. Let the reader ponder over this custom,
and then reflect upon the retentive memory of the subjected race. They
must remember--they have no ability to forget. Consider the custom,
and also regard the nature upon which that custom operates; then say
whether the breeder goes the proper way to develop that sweetness of
temper and that gentleness of disposition which increase the value of
equine property.
But, to return to the subject of the present paper. There is now a long
pause before more teeth appear in the mouth. The little one, in the
mean time, lives chiefly upon suction, and runs, during the period of
perfect happiness, free by its mother’s side. Upon the completion of
the first month, seldom earlier, it may be observed to lower the head
and nip the young blades of the shooting grass. From the third month,
however, the habit becomes more frequent, until, by the advent of the
sixth month, the grinders will be worn quite flat; or, having lost
their pointed and jagged prominences, will, by the wear of constant
mastication, have been reduced to the state which is suited to their
function.
[Illustration: THE FRONT TEETH AT NINE MONTHS OLD.]
The corner incisors come into the mouth about the ninth month, the four
pairs of nippers, which have been already traced, being at this time
fully developed. Above is a view of the foal’s teeth, as these are
exhibited at the period named. The reader will remark that the corner
incisors, which are depicted as through the gums, do not yet meet,
though these organs point toward each other; neither has the membrane
of the mouth at this time entirely lost the deepened hue of infancy.
From this date, however, the gums gradually become pale, till, by
the completion of the first year, the membrane has nearly assumed
that complexion which will endure throughout the earlier period of
existence. All the incisors are, by the first birthday, well up. The
masticatory agent, although consolidated, has not, when the quadruped
is one year old, entirely lost the roundness and bluntness of its
inferior margin, for which the jaw at birth was peculiarly remarkable.
This fullness of the bone is caused by all the grinding teeth which are
in the mouth when the foal first sees the light being of a temporary
character; the enlargement is consequent upon the jaw, therefore,
having to contain and to mature the long permanent grinders which,
within the substance of the bone, are growing beneath the temporary
molars. To contain and to allow the large uncut teeth to become
developed, before appearing above the gums, causes the small jaw of a
diminutive foal to be disproportionately thick, especially when this
part is compared with the same structure in an aged horse; but the mind
is reconciled to its apparent clumsiness when apprised of the uses to
which the organ is subservient.
[Illustration: THE JAW OF A ONE-YEAR OLD.]
At one year old, the first permanent tooth appears in the head. This
is the fourth molar, or that which is represented as the most backward
grinder in the appended engraving. The reader will not fail to remark
the greater length which the jaw-bone presents at one year old. The
additional extent also in the opposite direction cannot otherwise
than be observed. This increase of size was necessitated to cover the
increasing size of the recent molar; also, to afford room for the
partial development of two other grinders, which, as age progresses,
will appear behind that which is now the last tooth.
About this time, frequently at birth, little nodules of bone, without
fangs, merely attached to the gums, appear in front of each row of
grinders. These are vulgarly denominated “Wolves’ Teeth,” and were once
held to be of vast importance. At present, however, they are recognized
as the simple representatives of those organs which in other animals
(as in man) render the teeth a continuous or unbroken curve. They are,
by experience, found to be harmless. It is idle to remove these organs,
especially as they generally disappear with the shedding of those
members facing which they are located.
Although by this period the foal has lost the furzy tail, nevertheless
it has not assumed the aspect of the horse. Its face and its back want
length; its trunk needs bulk; its legs are much too long; and no one
in his senses should, for an instant, imagine it could be a full-grown
specimen of its race. Indeed, the author would not mention such a
possibility, did he not know a single instance where an error of this
nature was actually perpetrated with a creature of the equine order.
A cockney gentleman took up his residence, a few years ago, in one of
the channel islands, and wishing to procure some safe animal for the
amusement of his children, the simple Londoner actually purchased and
worked a little donkey, barely one year old, in his ignorance mistaking
the animal for an ass which had attained its maturity. That no reader
of the present volume may commit so cruel a blunder, the portrait of a
horse, as it appears at the first year of its age, is presented below.
[Illustration: ABOUT ONE YEAR OLD.]
The changes in the teeth, after the first year of life has been
attained, are characterized by the longer periods which divide them.
Nature appears, as it were, resting to draw breath for a mightier
effort than she has hitherto undertaken. Months have, heretofore,
separated the advent of single pairs; but, from this date, these
appearances are to be reckoned by numbers and by years. The foal, to
the point of its present necessities, has been provided for. It has
teeth sufficient to support and to maintain its growth.
Nature has now to render perfect the body, before the teeth.
Accordingly, between the first and the second year the alteration
in the general aspect is very marked. All the helplessness and
pretty ungainliness of infancy disappears by the expiration of the
time mentioned. The animal’s frame then suggests something of those
beautiful proportions which it is soon to display. Its body, however,
still needs maturing; and no one, less wanting in common sense than a
racing man, would think of subjecting the youthful and tender form to
the hardest of all actual work. The very aspect of the creature should
denote it to be unsuited for such performances. It must, to foreigners,
read as strange intelligence, that the _nobility_, who patronize the
English course, applaud the contests between two-year olds; while
the _bumpkins_, who breed horses for the general market, allow the
quadruped to enter the third year before the colt is given over to the
breaker. Alas, for the hardihood or want of sensibility displayed by
the most exalted, when prompted by the greed of gambling!
[Illustration: ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD.]
Nothing in the above sketch is more striking than the contrast
presented by the character of the head, when compared with the
image which immediately preceded the last illustration. The face has
perceptibly lengthened; for by this time a second permanent molar,
making five grinders on both sides of the upper and of the lower jaws,
has broken through the fleshy covering of the gums. Preparation is also
being made for the advent of the sixth grinder, and for changes in
those milk molars which were in the mouth when the animal was born. At
the same time, additional width is imperative to allow the permanent
incisors to appear when the proper season arrives for these last organs
to displace their temporary representatives.
[Illustration: JAW AT TWO YEARS OLD.]
[Illustration: THE INCISOR TEETH AT TWO YEARS OLD.]
Should the front teeth of a two-year old mouth be examined, there will
be perceived a want of that fixedness which, one year before, was the
characteristic of these organs. The central nippers appear to have
done their duty, or, at all events, suggest something approaching to
maturity has, during their brief existences, been attained. It will
hardly provoke regret--certainly it cannot excite wonder--should these
once beautiful ornaments of the foal’s mouth be displaced. Indeed,
the aspect of jaws in the two-year old plainly intimate approaching
alteration, which in a few months will become apparent.
Three years old is the period when the greater number of colts are
brought to market. About this age most animals begin to perform work.
Omnibus horses are purchased when only thus far advanced in life. The
army also buys its remounts when no further matured. Carriages are
drawn by young horses which, when they become three years old, are
resigned to the bit, the bearing-rein, and the exactions of London’s
fashionable ladies. Huntsmen, to be sure, have discovered that a
quadruped must be “full five” before it can gallop “cross country,”
take fences, and be ridden in at the death, or even be expected to
“hold” a good place during “the run.” But all gentlemen like to sit
on the yielding back of a youthful steed; though, to be properly
maintained, such a seat will, very probably, cost fifty pounds a
year, if not more money. The upper classes of society, and those who
sacrifice personal judgment to mimic their example, seem to act as
though they were assured that equine life was, by the third summer,
fully fitted to endure the severest extortions of mankind!
To embitter the fact, every year of the horse’s life is not calculated
according to the calendar. Man chooses to estimate the age of his
possession by another standard than that of the seasons. The first year
of hardly two animals in the kingdom is precisely of the same length.
Horses are, by the Jockey Club, permitted to have only two birthdays.
Thus, all blood foals must first see the light on the first of January;
or, should one presume to peep at the world upon the thirty-first of
December, the decision, which admits of no appeal, will esteem the
intruder one year old when the second day of its existence commences.
Then all animals, not thorough-bred, must forbear to look upon creation
until the first of May comes round; or, if they dare to mistake the
time, even by an hour, they are absolutely pronounced one year old,
before the little beings can fairly stand up and look about them.
Such regulations may be very convenient for the purposes of the
Jockey Club; but nature has not yet given in her submission to human
institutions. Medical men know that ladies cannot always calculate to
the minute; therefore mares, which have not yet learned arithmetic,
should not be held so very strict to their reckonings. Moreover, when
men will pay to sit upon the back of a three-year old, it is of all
importance to the spine, which has to endure the burden, whether the
nominal birthday represents the actual time or merely implies the
animal is two years and half an hour of positive age. However, the
teeth most obstinately ignore the sage code of the Jockey Club; but
the laws of that controlling body disdain to notice any variation; for
the creature which has lost but one nipper, and the quadruped which
has four permanent incisors fully up, are both esteemed to have been
dropped at the same hour, though an animal suffering the first-named
change, speaking truthfully, may be only rising three.
[Illustration: THE INCISORS DENOTE THREE YEARS OLD.]
At the same time, the confirmed mouth, with the nippers thoroughly
consolidated, and gums not showing a tinge of redness, can be esteemed
of no greater age: both are three years old; for both must have been
born on the first of January or on the first of May,--they had no
business to appear at any other time. If they were presumptuous rebels
against the just authority and recognized dignity of the Jockey Club,
then they are beyond the pale of all consideration, and must bear the
consequences of their temerity. The differences exhibited by their
mouths are, therefore, held to be of no account.
The age at this period ought to be absolutely ascertained; for most
horses, when three years old, undergo the greatest exertion. At this
period, the animal generally has to suffer the instruction of a rude
and an ignorant--frequently of a brutal and a savage--man, who is
justly denominated “_a breaker_.” Then, should the “broken” be thought
worthy of a saddle, it is given up to the gentle mercies of a rough
rider, and has to be tortured till it is gotten well together, and has
thoroughly learned its paces. In short, its gentle spirit has to be
subdued, or fear has to master timidity. How little does man know about
that life he has been accustomed to coerce! The pride of this world
prefers the compulsory drudgery of a spirit-broken slave, to the happy
service of a willing friend. The horse is sent upon earth, prepared
to serve and eager to share the happiness of its lord; but it is not
understood; it meets with no sympathy; it is treated as a wild and
ravenous beast, whose subjugation must be enforced and whose obedience
must be compelled.
[Illustration: THE INCISORS DENOTE NO MORE THAN THREE YEARS OLD.]
The bit is put into its mouth when the third year has been attained. It
is driven from the field and from the cool grass; at a period of change
and of debility it is expected to display the greatest animation, or
to learn strange things from him who teaches only with the lash or
with the goad. When its gums are inflamed; when the system is excited;
when the strength is absorbed by an almost simultaneous appearance of
twelve teeth, it is led from the plain and made, with its bleeding
jaws, to masticate sharp oats and fibrous hay. At this age, when fever
prevails in its blood, and the growth of its frame naturally weakens
the muscles, it is expected to have leisure to master new teachings,
animation to show off strange acquirements, and stamina to endure the
weight of the tyrant on its back.
From this date, it is the inhabitant of a close, a fetid, and a heated
stable. It may languish for a cool draught of pure air; but its head
is haltered to the manger, and there it must remain, to inhale the
tainted atmosphere of its abode. The fire natural to its condition
may rage; but it must not slake the thirst which consumes it till the
groom brings a pail, only to permit so many gulps or “go downs” to
be imbibed. Nay, if the poor captive should shift its feet, turn its
head, or change its attitude, in the restlessness of fever, it offends
its custodian, who, lounging upon the locker, watches to maintain
order, and can punish, should any horse sin against a groom’s notion
of propriety. Within the stable, of an afternoon, all is silent! The
man is uneasy, because of an inward consciousness that he is not
discharging a humane office. The animals are fidgety under unnatural
restraint. The very air of the place is oppressive. Nothing appears at
ease, save the cat, and this creature dozes and purs with enjoyment.
But for the poor colt there is no sympathy. For should the cutting of
many teeth inflame the gums and destroy the appetite, an iron is made
red hot and violently forced into the mouth, under pretense of burning
away the groom’s favorite disease--“the lampas!” which is purely an
imaginary disorder.
[Illustration: JAW OF A THREE-YEAR OLD.]
It has been described that a three-year colt cuts twelve teeth. The
above engraving represents half the lower jaw of an animal which had
seen three summers. In it the reader will readily recognize those
organs which are of recent appearance, by their darker color, by their
larger size, or by their differing in shape from the other members.
These new teeth are a central incisor and the first two grinders.
The horse has two jaws and two sides to each jaw; therefore the same
number being present within each side of both jaws, the teeth already
alluded to appear during the third year. However, even the quantity
named rather understates than overrates the fact, for frequently the
tushes are cut during this period; should such be the case, the colt
acquires no less than sixteen teeth in twelve months. We know what
the young beings of our own species suffer when the gums are ruptured
and the bones absorbed by the organs of mastication; the danger then
encountered leads to a belief that the great agony endured is increased
by a rapid growth of the body simultaneously weakening the system.
The teeth are only a part of the living organism; therefore, as when a
part moves we may conclude the whole system is in motion, the advent
of sixteen huge teeth, alone, might reasonably unfit the quadruped for
commencing its education, or for undergoing the severest portion of its
labors. But how do the customs of humanity appear, when illumined by a
consideration of the sufferings which nature is imposing at the time
the colt is tasked to its greatest exertions?
Some _very low_ classes of horse proprietors will, however, make the
work of the three-year old colt as light as possible. The vulgar
generally regard the frame at this age as not perfectly matured, and
they treat the strength as not equal to full labor. A nice practical
comment is thus published upon the behavior of those gentlemen of title
and of fortune, who train, start, and make animals run races at two
years old! Few members of existing society, however, will accord any
indulgence to a colt during its fourth year. Yet if the quadruped once
possessed any claim upon consideration, the animal at this period has
positive title to our forbearance. For the second effort must be more
exhausting than the first; since the latter has to be accomplished with
diminished power. Thus the four-year old has to perfect as many teeth
as are known to protrude into the mouth of the three-year old.
[Illustration: JAW OF A FOUR-YEAR OLD.]
The tushes in this view, however, must be disregarded. The precise time
of appearance is uncertain with these analogues of the canine teeth
in man, or of the tusks in the porcine race. They may come up at the
third--they often are delayed to the fourth year; sometimes these teeth
never pierce the membrane of the gums, it being very far from uncommon
to see horses’ mouths of seven years in which the tushes are absent.
By the completion of the fourth year, the colt has certainly gained
twelve teeth; that is, by this time there should exist, on each side
of both jaws, one new lateral incisor and two fresh molars, being
the third and the sixth in position. The appearance of the mouth
now announces the approach of maturity; but the inferior margin of
the lower bone still feels more full and rounded than is altogether
consistent with the perfect consolidation of an osseous structure. We
cannot take cognizance of the swollen and enlarged condition of the
jaw, without being assured that some important process is going forward
within its interior. It is among the firmest physiological truths, that
nature is a strict economist and never does anything without intention;
that every enlargement or every depression--however insignificant it
may appear to human eyes--is a permanent provision for some appointed
purpose, and has its allotted use in the animal system. Accordingly, it
is discovered the sign we just remarked upon indicates the process of
dentition is not finished by the termination of the fourth year. There
are more teeth to be cut, as well as the fangs of those already in
the mouth to be made perfect. This must be a laborious effort. Nature
always toils slowly in proportion to the density of her work; when we
regard the compact structure of a horse’s tooth, we may conjecture the
quantity of blood, the amount of inflammation, and the intensity of
suffering which are necessary for its perfection.
[Illustration: ONE LOWER LATERAL INCISOR BEING THROUGH THE GUM DECLARES
A FOUR-YEAR OLD.]
Still a gentleman may purchase a colt with one lower lateral incisor
barely through the gum. Nevertheless, such a condition of mouth must be
accepted as announcing the animal to be four years old. That fact is
not to be disputed, for have not the Jockey Club proclaimed it? Being
four years old, most people view the colt as needing no indulgence. The
creature, at this age, is generally urged to the extent of its power.
Would mortal intellect think on that which it beholds, and endeavor
to understand the evidence which is presented to its sight, how much
that is now carelessly passed by unnoticed would be read as a plea for
forbearance, and how much misery might be banished from that abode
which the idle complacently term “a vale of tears”! The gums newly
lacerated or the jaws bleeding do not indicate that conformation of
parts or announce that established strength which could endure extreme
exhaustion. Such signs rather suggest pain, and declare that life is
suffering the penalty of existence. They ought to kindle the sympathy
of him who likewise is born to sorrow, and crave the commiseration
of one whose sad inheritance it is to draw breath at the risk of
misery. Would any man expect his child--whether girl or boy--when only
acquiring the permanent front teeth, to be equal to the toil which a
task-master should allot to fully-developed strength in its prime or
in the maturity of its power? The horse is not a speaking creature. It
has no voice to plead or to complain. But what right has the lord of
earth, being blessed with ability to control his acts and with reason
to comprehend the signs of nature, to enforce that fate upon the dumb
slave in his possession from which he would esteem it a duty to shelter
his own offspring?
[Illustration: THESE TEETH EQUALLY DECLARE ONLY FOUR YEARS OLD.]
The colt with four incisors in either jaw, all fully grown and worn
flat with use, is esteemed to be no older than the animal with only
one lateral nipper barely through the swollen gum. Both creatures,
according to man’s reckoning, are of one age. Neither can, says the
Jockey Club, be an hour in advance of the other. Yet the colt with four
pairs of permanent incisors in the mouth has not paid the penalty which
nature exacts from early life. There are still the corner milk nippers
to be shed; yet, while the provision necessary for that labor is taking
place within the body, or while nature is preparing her mute offspring
for the coming struggle, man considers the poor quadruped as fully
developed and as enjoying the prime of its existence.
The teeth may be scarcely visible in the mouth, nevertheless such a
sign announces the fifth year to be attained. Man, who estimates a
horse’s life according to the laws of the Jockey Club, and ignores
nature’s mode of declaring the duration of existence by signs and
attributes; man, who in his impatience refuses to reckon age by
those functions which the body has perfected or which it has to
mature--man seizes upon the imperfect being, as a creature fitted for
the accomplishment of any kind of labor. There are, at five, no more
bothering teeth to cut. All are through the bone, and the mouth will
soon be sound. The animal must be in its prime, and the longest day or
the hardest run should not beat it to a stand-still. Therefore, show
off your horsemanship. Mount, trot, prance, gallop, and leap, as you
please. Everybody says the horse at this time is in its prime. Tear on
to plowed fields. Whip the brute over the widest ditch. Dig your spurs
into the flanks and take the stiffest hedge. The laboring beast may
breathe a little hard or possibly may reel: but, so the quadruped does
the performance, and is scarcely alive after it is accomplished--the
owner can hail his five-year old as a seasoned horse!
[Illustration: FIVE-YEAR OLD.
One upper corner permanent incisor has been cut. The lower corner milk
incisor is still retained.]
Were the writer to pursue this line of observation from year to year,
the features becoming more minute as time progresses, the investigation
might ultimately grow wearisome. As age increases, so do the bones
contract, till absorption at length commences: or at thirty years all
the appearances of strength, which were conspicuous, will have entirely
vanished in the domesticated quadruped that has been subjected to hot
stables and hard food. The jaw no longer seems endowed with greater
bulk than is needed for the discharge of its function. It has become
comparatively thin, and where it once was wide, it is now narrowed.
Then, the grinding surfaces of the molars are no longer even or
straight. Comminution of an artificially-prepared diet, continued for
a number of years, seems to have worn the organs of mastication into a
shallow and eccentric curve; or, as pressure persevered with upon any
living substance promotes absorption, probably the constant grinding of
hardened food has caused parts of the once even surface to be removed.
[Illustration: THE JAW OF A FIVE-YEAR OLD.]
[Illustration: JAW OF A THIRTY-YEAR OLD.]
However, many readers may feel disposed to turn from the next
illustration, feeling their dislike of the image to be justified
by denominating it an extreme instance. As such it is adduced, and
no wrong is, therefore, done by so regarding it. It was inserted
simply as bearing conspicuous evidence of that fact which it was the
desire to establish. Few, very few English horses live to reach the
thirtieth year; but to show that those signs which were remarkable in
the last engraving commence at an earlier period, below is the jaw of
a twelve-year old horse, in which the presence of all the indications
that at the thirtieth year seem exaggerated, may be clearly discerned
in their commencement.
[Illustration: JAW OF A TWELVE-YEAR OLD.]
The author must now explain the phenomena to which he has directed
the reader’s attention. The molar teeth are not all of the like size,
nor of one form. The organs occupying the upper jaw are nearly, not
quite, double the width of those which are located in the lower jaw.
The inferior molars are the grinding agents, or the active organs of
mastication. The superior teeth are simply the passive tables upon
which, or against which, the food undergoes comminution. The slab
is always the lowest of the two in human mills; but nature has more
to provide for than the mere pulverization of certain substances.
With mastication, actually commences a very compound process. With
the act of chewing, digestion begins; it was ordained that more than
any mechanical invention can accomplish should be imperative to the
due performance of this function. The benevolence of the All-wise
instituted that while his creatures were promoting the healthy exercise
of the appropriative necessity, they should likewise excite their
enjoyment. Therefore when pulp is masticated, the pressure of the teeth
expels the juices, which fall directly upon the seat of taste. When a
harder substance has to be comminuted, the bulk is first shattered into
fragments; the particles, descending upon either side of the teeth,
have to be gathered up and placed again between the masticatory organs.
The movements of the tongue and jaw excite the salivary glands; the
broken substance becomes mingled with the secretion of the last-named
bodies. Saliva extracts the savor from the food; and the tongue also
brings these in contact with the seat of taste, while discharging its
office of collecting the broken pieces.
The reader being now fully informed as to facts, may have patience
sufficient to peruse an explanation of the principles on which the
foregoing statements are founded. Such a mode of proceeding may,
to certain methodical writers, seem to be transposing the proper
arrangement. The author does not undertake to defend his actions on
the score of their propriety; but he feels that he is addressing human
beings in whom a desire to know is the best possible foundation on
which knowledge can be established; consequently, principles become
less repulsive when communicated after incidents have kindled curiosity.
[Illustration:
THE CONDITION IN WHICH THE TABLE OF A TEMPORARY MOLAR IS CAST FROM
THE MOUTH OF A HORSE.
The dotted lines merely indicate the extent of the tooth previous
to absorption.
]
The primary molars cannot boast the length of the fang, though
they exhibit very nearly the same extent of superficial surface as
characterizes the succeeding teeth. They have rather shallow roots,
which are not composed of those consolidated materials that are present
in their immediate successors. When the original molar is shed, the
temporary tooth is not expelled entire from its position, but the
pressure of the growing organ (which comes into the mouth exactly where
the milk grinder stood) causes the root to be absorbed, till nothing
but a superficial shell has to be ejected.
[Illustration:
A FIRST PERMANENT MOLAR, AS IT APPEARED IN THE MOUTH, UNCOVERED.
This tooth occupied the fourth situation in the jaw; therefore the
root would require to be considerably extended by subsequent
growth.
]
The horse, in its natural state, exists on fibrous grasses; it
therefore becomes essential the animal should retain the power of
masticating such substances. Nature never withholds what is necessary
to the well-being of her creatures. The mode in which the Common Parent
provides for the preservation of this ability in the horse is perfectly
distinct from any provision that He makes for most earthly creatures.
The temporary remains of a molar tooth are not shed till another
organ is in the mouth at hand to permanently supply its place. But
the permanent tooth does not appear ready flattened and prepared to
discharge its office. It is cut with certain angular prominences upon
its masticating surface, which must render the animal disinclined to
employ it on the instant of its development. This disinclination allows
a pause, during which the various structures can be consolidated, and
at the end of such brief space the prominences have become blunted,
while the organ, being firmly planted, is then ready for mastication.
Is it not surprising how a plain statement of facts can reasonably
account for that disinclination to feed which, to the groom’s mind,
announces a state of disease that shall necessitate the employment of
burning iron to eradicate what the man styles “Lampas!”
There remains, however, to account for that width and depth of jaw
by which the head of the youthful horse is distinguished. The reader
is requested to attentively inspect the last illustration. The size
and length of fang cannot fail to awaken his surprise. Nevertheless,
if this part be regarded it will be seen depicted as of a ragged,
incomplete, and apparently of a hollow condition. So, when the tooth
has displaced the temporary molar, and has taken its station within the
mouth, it has still to grow. The protruded portion may be consolidated;
but the unfinished extremity is denominated the cavity of the pulp.
That pulp consists of a fine bladder, on which ramify numerous
blood-vessels; but the interior of which contains simply a clear fluid.
This is the secreting membrane of the tooth. Out of this watery bag the
wonderful chemistry of nature can extract the most condensed material
that resides within the strong body of a horse.
[Illustration: SECTION OF A MOLAR TOOTH.]
Another feature of the above tooth, because it balks expectation, can
hardly fail to attract notice. The dark hue of the outward covering,
being abhorrent to human notions of youth or of purity, is generally
attributed to dirt. The tooth of the horse is, however, composed
of three substances: a tough and fibrous material, called crusta
petrosa; a thin layer of crystalline deposit, named enamel; and a
kind of compact bone, spoken of as dentine. They occur according to
the order in which they are named. The bone exhibits a yellow tinge,
and is present in the greatest quantity, for it forms the inner bulk
of the tooth. The crusta petrosa is a comparatively thick external
envelope, being about five times the substance of the enamel, to which
it is an outward protection. The components are thrown into various
convolutions; but the order alluded to is always preserved. The bone or
dentine is invariably the internal substance; it needs to occupy such
a position, as within it the sensation resides. The crusta petrosa and
the enamel may be tampered with without perception being aroused; but
the dentine is capable of communicating the acutest agony; and it is
upon the dentine that rogues operate, when they “bishop” an old horse.
To convince the reader that nature has not needlessly sacrificed the
whiteness of the horse’s tooth, the author will dilate fully upon the
many services afforded by the dark-colored crusta petrosa. To render
the explanation more intelligible, reference will be here made to a
common tool seen every day in the hands of an ordinary mechanic. The
bricklayer’s trowel appears to be nothing more than a thick layer of
metal; but it is hourly put to uses for which iron would be too soft,
and steel would be too brittle. Therefore, the blade is composed of a
thin layer of steel, inclosed within two comparatively thick layers
of iron. By the combination of opposite qualities, perfect utility is
produced; and this trowel, it seems hard to believe, was not suggested
by that arrangement which is conspicuous in the horse’s tooth.
The enamel, hard, brittle, and readily fractured, but presenting a
fine or a cutting edge, is developed as a thin layer, convoluted upon
the sides of the dentine, and securely covered by crusta petrosa. That
the incisive substance may fulfill its office, may sever or comminute
the tough and fibrous herbs upon which the equine race subsist, it is
inclosed between two elastic bodies, the whole being held together
by the vessels which pass from the exterior to the interior of the
organ, though these vessels do no more than travel through the enamel
without nourishing or supporting it; the latter structure being of a
crystalline nature, or strictly inorganic, therefore not fitted to
appropriate nutriment.
The crusta petrosa is, however, of further use than has been already
stated. The horse’s grinders are generally supposed to be gifted with a
power of growth whereby they are enabled to repair that perpetual loss
of substance to which their employment must subject them. The teeth,
certainly, are not perfected when the crowns first appear in the mouth;
so far the opinion is capable of being upheld. But when once completed,
the dentine is not endowed with any innate ability to renew its loss
of substance. The wear consequent upon continual use is provided for
by the length of fang which characterizes the permanent molar of the
quadruped. As the surface gradually decreases, so are the lower parts
of the teeth, by the contraction of the jaw-bones, forced into the
mouth, while the outward investing substance--the crusta petrosa--being
gifted with a limited power of increase, is enabled thereby to firmly
retain the protruded fang in its new position; although the contraction
of the bones, which is always going forward as age advances, does
not necessitate the power of growth should in early life be largely
exhibited.
With almost every form of being, as years accumulate, the ability to
masticate becomes enfeebled. It is with the horse as it is with other
animals. The thin coating of enamel does not extend to the ultimate
root of the fang, so that in advanced age the power of the molars is
almost destroyed by the absence of the cutting agent upon the grinding
surface. The chief component, moreover, or the dentine, diminishes in
quantity as in solidity; the last portions of the molar, therefore,
could not fill the socket, only for that ability to increase with which
the crusta petrosa is gifted. Upon the extreme roots of the grinders,
taken from the jaws of very old horses, this substance is always found
in great abundance. In illustration of this fact, a sketch made from
the tooth of an aged quadruped is here inserted; the body has been sawn
asunder, to exhibit the proportions and the substances that entered
into its composition. The reader will remark certain dark lines upon
the dentine. These indicate the places where existed the cavity of
the pulp, which once served to nourish the organ; but it is lost as
vitality lessens with the advance of senility. Does not the reader, as
he inspects the engraving, perceive the wickedness and the folly of
placing harsh and dried food before a creature which nature, in age,
deprives of ability to comminute such a form of sustenance?
[Illustration: SECTION OF AN AGED MOLAR TOOTH.]
The permanent incisors are not cut after the same manner as the molars.
The nippers being merely employed to bite the grass, a wide vacancy
does not necessarily incapacitate the other portions of the excising
apparatus. A blade can cut, even though a large notch exist upon its
edge. Whereas the points which are developed upon the upper surfaces
of the newly cut molars must render the grinders entirely useless;
although the short period of enforced abstinence, which announces the
appearance of a fresh double tooth, may be nature’s own medicine to
quiet a feverish system, burning with morbid excitement.
The front milk teeth have fangs when they appear in the mouth; but
no fang exists when the primary members are shed. The root of the
temporary organ, when perfect, however, resembles that of the permanent
incisor. It is only sufficient to fit the member for its purposes.
In the same canal as was occupied by the milk tooth, the permanent
incisor generally appears. Much suffering must attend the absorption
of bone; yet, during the time the huge permanent nipper is forcing its
way through the narrow channel, which held firmly the diminutive milk
tooth, and while the smaller fang is by pressure being also absorbed,
the colt receives no consideration at the hands of the groom or of its
master. Both are equally ignorant of the necessity for kindness; but
each regards any indication of pain as one of those visitations of
disease to which young horses are said to be peculiarly liable.
[Illustration: A MILK AND A PERMANENT INCISOR TOOTH.]
When the foal has shed the front milk teeth, the entire of the
serviceable or visible portion of these members is displaced. They are
endowed with no power to supply any diminution of their substance,
neither are they capable of renewal; whereas the long permanent incisor
may be viewed as all tooth, and possessing no fang; for as the upper
portion wears, so does the lower part protrude or supply its place.
The two teeth, however, present a strong contrast when considered as
organs, both occupying one cavity, and both united to fulfill the like
uses in the same animal. The illustration last displayed represented a
permanent and a temporary incisor; the uneven mark dividing the milk
tooth indicates the appearance of the organ after the absorption of the
fang causes it to be cast from the mouth, while the dotted line shows
the shape and the extent of the fang previous to its absorption by
pressure.
[Illustration: SIX YEARS OLD.
SEVEN YEARS OLD.
EIGHT YEARS OLD.
TWELVE YEARS OLD.
TWENTY YEARS OLD.
THIRTY YEARS OLD.
THE INCISORS OF HORSES OF DIFFERENT PERIODS OF AGE AFTER THE FIFTH
YEAR.]
The amount of root natural to the permanent incisors enables those
organs, as years increase, to alter their arrangement, length, and
direction, without being displaced. In youth, the united front teeth
compose a curve, or almost a semicircle. In age, the same members
incline toward a straight, or at best form an irregular line. In the
colt, the teeth are flat, smooth, and filbert shaped; but in the old
animal, they are decidedly long and angular. When the permanent teeth
first appear, they are nearly perpendicular; but when they have been a
long time exposed, they protrude almost in the horizontal direction.
Looking, from the side, at a young mouth, the spectator can behold half
the nippers; but when inspecting the old teeth from the same point
of view, two only will be visible, though the full number shall be
present in the mouth. In the aged quadruped, moreover, the narrowing
of the incisors allows the spaces between the organs to be vacant.
Within these spaces the food accumulates, which, being there retained
and becoming black, looks as though the creature had been chewing
tobacco. Such signs are too fixed to be disguised. The accumulation
of blackened food, it is true, may be taken away; but its removal will
leave the interspaces, if possible, still more conspicuous. So also
the long teeth may be shortened; but they will not be elevated to
the perpendicular, or changed to a filbert form, or restored to the
semicircular arrangement.
The tushes likewise may be regarded. These teeth are sometimes absent
in mares, and in animals of the female sex are seldom developed of the
size which they commonly exhibit in the male. When first cut, the tush
is spear shaped, having well-defined grooves running down its margins.
As age advances, all pretension to this form is lost. The tooth either
becomes very flat upon its crown or it may be rendered level with the
gum; else it grows very long, looking more like a coarse spike than
the organ it really is. Also, when it originally appears in the young
mouth, the tush ranges evenly with the parts from which it grows,
and points forward. As senility is attained, the member is directed
outward; with extreme old age, it faces backward. The contraction of
the jaw causes the tongue to protrude from the free spaces between the
teeth, while the consequent shallowness of the canal formed by the
branches of the bone occasions the saliva to dribble forth when the
lips are parted.
The indications of extreme age are always present, and though during
a period of senility the teeth cannot be literally construed,
nevertheless it should be impossible to look upon the “venerable steed”
as an animal in its colthood.
No man can accurately interpret the signs of the teeth after the fifth
year. A guess, more or less correct, can be hazarded; but nothing like
confident judgment can be pronounced subsequent to the period just
named. Cases will frequently occur, which shall set our best endeavors
to be correct at defiance. But for such instances it is not difficult
to account. The Jockey Club may order as it pleases about birthdays;
but children and foals will, nevertheless, obtrude upon the world all
the year round. Such downright absurdity, as a pretense at controlling
the operations of nature, was never perhaps equaled, save by the
burlesque monarch depicted by Mr. Planchè, who, because he is hungry,
_wills_ that it _be_ one o’clock, when the sun declares the time to be
only twelve. It might be more convenient, certainly, if foals could
agree all to put in appearances at a particular date; but until such an
arrangement has been entered into by the parties principally concerned,
it is idle presumption for any set of men to issue ordinances which,
never being observed, render “confusion worse confounded.”
The difference between the times of birth in various animals, it is
true, may cause different aspects in the teeth, and even induce men, in
obedience to the rules of the Jockey Club, to call a colt four, which
truth and the teeth declare to be only three. Horses may therefore be
readily reckoned older than they really are: but there is a general
belief that rogues in Yorkshire can make the teeth say five, when the
actual age is only four; or, in other words, can so successfully tamper
with the mouth as to induce the teeth to belie the actual age. Ignorant
people have a blind faith in the power of those who chance to be more
knowing than themselves; but the author can only regard the general
belief in “Yorkshire fives,” as illustrating the total unacquaintance
of the public with all that concerns equine economy.
An elderly lady once laid claim to a dog which she beheld led about the
streets for sale. The possessor disputed her title, and the pair were
by the police introduced to a magistrate. Both gave a different name
as that belonging to the animal. The dog came to either appellation.
When put down on the floor of the court, it went to man or lady with
equal indifference. It was a puzzling case. At length, the bench was
illumined by a bright idea. “Hand me the dog,” cried his worship, who
quickly placed it out of sight. Then, addressing the female supplicant,
he said, “I beg your pardon. All you have said about signs and marks
may be perfectly correct; but such things, possibly, in two animals,
may be the same. The creature evidently does not appear to recognize
its mistress; for, though it comes to your call, yet it will leave you
when spoken to from an opposite direction. I beg your pardon, madam, we
have settled, apparently, all points but one. Pray excuse me! But was
your animal a gentleman or a lady?” “Oh! sir!” replied the distressed
female, “mine was a lady dog.” “Then I am afraid I must give the case
against your ownership, for this dog is decidedly a gentleman.” With
that, he returned the animal to the man. “Stop, sir! Stay! Oh! pause!
Consider, sir, those dog stealers can play such tricks,” sobbed forth
the disconsolate female.
So particular people appear to credit Yorkshire horse dealers with
an ability to perform “such tricks.” No doubt they have every wish;
but the author questions whether they have yet attained the power to
compel nature at their bidding. All they are said to do, as pulling
out the milk teeth, firing and blistering the gums, are like the arts
which were formerly used to raise the evil one; and, in the writer’s
opinion, about as likely to be attended with success. Cruelty is more
calculated to retard than to promote development. However, if the mouth
exhibit the signs proper to a five-year old, the animal may with safety
be purchased, as being of that age. Should it be younger than five,
the owner is the gainer; since the teeth do no more than indicate the
development of the body, and an early maturity is the best evidence
that the quadruped, during the previous years, has been tenderly
nurtured.
Certain readers may feel opposed to the illustrations which have been
inserted into this division of the present volume. It may be justly
advanced that, in the earlier portion of the present treatise, the
author asserted horses could live until the animal had reached its
sixtieth year. However, recently he adduced the mouth of a quadruped
which endured but half that period; yet this specimen exhibited
features indicative of immediate decay.
Such an accusation would be well grounded; it could not be denied. The
sixty-year old of which the writer spoke was not feeding in the stable.
The creature whose teeth are delineated to represent the appearances
displayed at the thirtieth year was not in the field, but tied up in a
stall. The one quadruped was consuming its natural food, the other had
to masticate those artificially-prepared substances which man finds it
most convenient to place before the dumb captive.
The engravings inserted to illustrate the aspect of the mouth, during
the thirtieth year, may therefore be regarded as exemplifying the evils
which result from the present mode of feeding. Hay and oats, as now
given in dry and hard conditions, are the most expensive articles of
sustenance which could be found. Much of the hay passes through the
system only partially digested. In what condition the oats are voided,
the sparrows of the roadway and the chickens on the dung hill equally
attest. Under the present system at least half the diet is ejected
from the body unappropriated. Much more would be lost, but for the
capacious and convoluted intestines of the equine race. Within these,
the provender swallowed is long retained, and during the entire period
of its retention it is exposed to the digestive action which its
components are beautifully formed to resist.
Aloes, a most drastic purgative, is the one in common use with
stable-men. It takes four and twenty hours before its operation
is witnessed; for an entire day it lies dormant within the body,
notwithstanding the aids of warm water, bran mashes, and occasional
exercise are resorted to, so as to quicken its laxative effects. The
animal, during this period, is obviously ill, and the medicine may be
heard causing a “rumbling noise” within the bowels. But if a drastic
purgative is four and twenty hours traveling along the digestive track,
what period will be occupied by those dry materials which must have
positively a constipating effect? However, the latter kind of diet is
not all acted upon when cast forth; that portion which is ejected in an
unchanged condition represents so much cash which has been expended to
no purpose.
Of course, the mastication of artificially-prepared food wears the
teeth, and also taxes the powers of nature far more than would the
natural diet. By the operation of both causes, the horse’s life is
rendered much shorter than it would be were the animal kept after a
natural fashion. The diminished period of existence we will mildly
estimate at one-half the natural duration; therefore, under the
existing mode of stable management, every gentleman pays twice as
much for an animal as under a better system need be given. Nay, the
extravagance does not end here; for the unnatural nourishment first
generates weakness, and weakness is the beginning of disease. There is,
therefore, to be added to the account--annoyance, loss of service, and
the veterinary surgeon’s charges. To crown all, the proprietor cannot
obtain the full exertion from the animal; the body being only partially
supported even during the seasons of imperfect health. The incompletely
digested food has also to be considered. Altogether, as the author has
no desire to make out a case, suppose the latter influences reduce
the value of the remaining portion of life one-half, and we arrive at
the conclusion that the horse proprietor literally squanders fifteen
shillings out of every pound he pays for his horse; and he is thus
extravagant, simply because, to consult the convenience of his groom,
he will persist in feeding the animal upon a most unnatural and
injurious kind of diet.
This subject will, however, be fully considered in the next chapter,
where “food” is separately regarded. The author must only here state
that he is not advocating a return to grass, although grass may
suggest an idea as to the proper kind of nutriment without itself
being the thing desired. It is certainly true that horses look round
for their food, and the stable is always in commotion when the hour
arrives for its distribution. This fact, however, establishes nothing.
Horses are fidgety equally during the period of watering. Horses, in
other countries, are uneasy when the stable companions are being fed;
yet in all countries they do not live as in England. In the extreme
northern parts of the world, they eat dried fish; in the Crimea,
they gnawed one another’s tails; in Arabia, they feast upon barley
and chopped straw; in India, rudely cut grass, which has frequently
parted with its moisture as well as shed its seed, and a dark grain
termed “gram,” is their support. In Germany, they enjoy black bread.
In Ireland, they delight in raw potatoes. In various parts of England,
they enjoy different sorts of nourishment. In some countries, boiled
substances are the favorite dish. In others, cut roots are swallowed
with avidity; while there is a growing custom of administering those
various seasonings, all of which bear the general designation of
“patent food.” In short, the stabled horse can apparently be brought to
consume anything; but of all the known varieties of diet, the author
must regard that which is harsh, dried, and artificially prepared, as
the most convenient--but the most injurious and unnatural.
Its consequences are, perhaps, best exhibited by the thirst which
it will generate. The horse is not, naturally, a large drinker;
but if the internal portions of the body have to supply moisture,
in order that these parts may extract the nutriment from dry food,
the water must be replaced from an outward source. Horses have been
known to be ill from excessive thirst. Mr. William Percivall, the
late respected author on veterinary subjects, has recorded a case of
this description. Nevertheless, copious draughts of cold water are
frequently attended with danger; only, does it not exhibit a refinement
upon cruelty--firstly, to imprison an animal, and fasten it to one
spot; secondly, to give only such provender as must generate a craving
for fluid; thirdly, to withhold the liquid which our folly has created
a desire to imbibe?
The stable diet, moreover, throws the incisors out of use. These teeth,
in the domesticated animal, are employed only to grasp a little hay
and to pull it from the rack. They are of no further service. One of
their popular names, “nippers,” is in general a misnomer, for they are
permitted to nip nothing; much less are they allowed to exercise their
incisive faculty. Therefore, being thrown out of use, the members have
no function to control their natural growth. They continue to protrude
as age advances, till, by the thirtieth year, or by the time the
quadruped has attained half the period of its natural existence, the
front teeth have become long spikes, and are actual deformities within
the mouth they were designed to adorn.
So palpable a sign is, however, not understood. To be sure, the present
treatment of the horse slaughters the majority of its fellows before
dentition is perfected. Few gentlemen, therefore, may have looked upon
an aged quadruped; for prevailing fashion declares the creature, whose
strength and youth have been devoted to man’s pleasure, should be sold
so soon as the advent of age is apparent. The chances, consequently,
are, that the present chapter will be “news” to the greater number of
readers. It may record facts which will be perused with wonder, and it
may adduce circumstances which will be read with surprise.
Though up to the present moment these things may not have been properly
regarded, from the present time there can be no excuse for continuing
existing customs. Why should the teeth of the horse alone be subjected
to abuse? The dog lives off biscuits and cooked flesh; the cat enjoys
the scraps from the family table. Why should the horse, of all strictly
domesticated creatures, be doomed to consume raw food? It would be
cheaper to prepare all sustenance for digestion, since, in that form,
less would communicate more nourishment; and if the matter is to be
decided as a money question, there can be no doubt as to the side on
which pecuniary interest would range.