Encyclopaedia Britannica; or, A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan … > Volume 2, C-L

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his ears are handfome, and of a proper height; his main
adorns his neck, and gives him the appearance of ftrength
and boldnefs. ■
At the age of two years, or two yeaft and a half,
the horfe is in a condition to propagate ; and the mare,
like mod other females, is ready to receive him dill
fooner. But the foals produced by fuch early embra¬
ces are generally ill made and weakly. The horfe
fiiould never be admitted to the mare till he is four or
four and a half; this is only meant with regard to
draught-horfes. Fine horfes (hould not be admitted to
the mare before they be fix years old; and Spamlh da-
lions not till feven. The mares are generally in feafon
from the beginning of April to the end of March ; but
their chief ardour for the horfe lads but about 15 or 20
days, and this critical feafon {hould always be embra¬
ced. The dalion ought to be found, well made, vi¬
gorous, and of a good breed. For fine faddle horfes,
foreign dalions, as Arabians, Turks, Barbs, and An-
daldufians, are preferable to all others. Next to thefe,
Britilh dalions are the bed ; becaufe they originally
fprang from thofe above mentioned, and are very little
degenerated. The dalions of Italy, and efpecially
the Neapolitans, are very good. The bed dalions for
draught or carriage horfes, are thofe of Naples- Den¬
mark, Holdein, and Freezeland. The dalions for fad-
dlerhorfes {hould be from 14 to 15 hands high, and for
draught-horfes at lead 15 hands. Neither ought the
colour of dalions to be overlooked; as a fine black,
grey, bay, forrel, ire. Befides thefe external qualities,
a dalion ought to have courage, mutability, fpirit, a-
gility, a feniible mouth, fure limbs, ic. Thefe precau¬
tions in the choice of a dalion are the more necedary,
becaufe he has been found by experience to communi¬
cate to his offspring almod all his good or bad qualities,
whether natural or acquired.
The mare contributes lefs to the beauty of her olf-
fpring than the dalion; but die contributes perhaps
more to their conditution and dature : for thefe reafons,
it is necedary that the mares for breed be perfectly
found, and make good nurfes. For elegant horfes, the
Spanidi and Italian mares are bed ; but, for draught-
horfes, thofe of Britain and Normandy are preferable.
However, when the dalions are good, the mares of any
country will produce fine horfes, provided they be well
made and of a good breed.
Mares go with young eleven months and fome days.
They bring forth danding ; contrary to the courfe of
mod other quadrupeds, who lie during this opf ration.
They continue to bring forth till the age of 16 or 18
years ; and both horfes and mares live between 25 and
30 years. Horfes cad their hair once a year, general
ly in the fpring, but fometimes in the autumn. At this
time they are weak, and require to be better fed and
taken care of than at any other feafon.
In Perfia, Arabia, and mod eadern counfries, they
never geld their horfes, as is done in Europe and Chi¬
na. This operation greatly diminiflies their drength,
courage, and fpirit; but it mokes them good humour¬
ed, gentle, and tradable. With regard to the time of
performing this operation, the pradice of different
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countries is different: fome geld their horfes when a-
year old, «nd others at 18 months. But the bed and
mod general pradice is to delay the operation till they
be two years old at lead ; becaufe, when the gelding
is delayed for two years or more, the animals reta n
more of the drength and other qualities which natu¬
rally belong to the male.
As the utility of horfes furpaffes that of all other
domedic animals, it may be of ufe to fubjoin fome
marks by which the age and other properties of horfes
may be didinguidied.
The fird teeth that appear are four, two above and
two below, which are called foal-teeth, and may be
eafily didinguifhed from the others by their whitenefs.
The red come out aftewards till they are twelve in
number, fix above and fix below. When a colt is be¬
tween two years and a half and three years old. he
cads four of thefe teeth, two above and two below.
Thefe we call nippers or gatherers, and are much
longer and larger than the Tore teeth ; with thefe he
nips off the grafs, and pulls the hay from the rack.
When thefe are complete, the "horfe will be three years
old, orfomewhat more.
When he is about four, he cads again two above and
two below, one on each fide the nippers; fo that
now there are no fore teeth remaining but the corner-
teeth ; and hence it may be concluded that he is about
four years old. The tulles appear next after rhefe,.
and are a little crooked Thofe below come out be¬
fore thofe on the upper jaw. and at four years old
they are very fmall. When all the colt-teeth are cad,
and the corner-teeth begin to (hew themielves, then
the horfe comes five.
From five to five apd a half the corner teeth'remain^
hollow within, and are not quite filled up till the horfe
is fix. At five and a half they are about a quarter of
an inch high, and when he is fullfix near halt an inch.
Everything that is to be examined at fix years old,
are the corner-teeth and the tulks That part of the
corner-teeth that had flelh in it fird turns to a brewn-
ilh fpot,. like the eye of a garden-bean. At feven the
mark or fpot becomes feint, and the tooth more even.
At eight it quite difappears, though it poflibly may re¬
main in a very fmall degree for two^r three years
more, which has deceived many. The wiger the cor¬
ner teeth are,'the older is the horfe ; and t;hey are apt
to grow foul and turn yellow. When the mark is
gone, if you touch the tufles on the upper jaw with
your finger, and find it worn away and equal with the
palate, you may certainly judge that the horfe is ten
years old at lead. Ladly, when the flanks oFa horle
are much funk, the feet broken and fpoiled, the pace:
bad, and the eye-pits very yellow, you may cer¬
tainly conclude the horfe is coafiderably advanced in
years.
When the horfe is withont blemifll, the legs and
thighs are clean, the knees drait, the.lkin and {hank
thin, and the back finew drong and well braced. The
finews and the bones {hould be fo didintd, as to make
the legs appear thin and lathy, not full and round.
The padern joints {hopld. never be large and round;;
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