The Age of a Horse
Friday, December 19, 2003
To tell the age of any horse,
Inspect the lower jaw, of course;
The six front teeth the tale will tell,
And every dought and fear dispel.
Two middle nippers you behold,
Before the colt is two weeks old;
Before eight weeks, two more will come,
Eight months the corners cut the gum.
The outside grooves will disappear,
From middle two in just one year;
in two years from the second pair,
In three years "corner", too, are bare.
At two the middle "nippers" drop,
At three the second pair can't stop;
When four years old the third pair goes,
At five a full new set he shows.
The deep black spots will pass from view,
At six years from the middle two;
The second pair at seven years,
At eight the spot each corner clears.
From middle "nippers" upper jaw,
At nine the black spots will withdraw;
The second pair at ten are bright,
Eleven finds the corners light.
As time goes on the horsemen know,
The oval teeth three-sided grow;
They get longer, project before,
Till twenty, when we know no more.
........Author Unknown
This is an old poen sent to The Budget newspaper in Sugarcreek, Ohio by Eli E.A. Schwartz of Seymour, Missouri over 25 years ago.
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