When buying a horse, it is very important to correctly determine its age, since in many respects its performance depends on this. An animal that is too old or too young will not be able to work effectively, and you still have to feed and care for it. The best option is to have a passport, but how to determine the age of a horse if there are no documents for it?
Instructions
Step 1
First, carefully examine the skin of the animal, over the years it becomes stiff and less elastic, gray hairs appear on the brow ridges and chin; in addition, in horses of a dark color, gray hair can be seen in the mane or tail.
Step 2
Ask the owner to walk with the horse and appreciate the silhouette of the animal: the back and belly of older horses sag, the angles of the joints of the bones sharpen over the years, the muscles become more flabby. Examine the muzzle carefully: in young horses, the forehead is more prominent and the head is outlined in soft lines, the lower edge of the jaw is rounded; in the elderly, the throat and eye sockets deepen, the lower edge of the jaw becomes sharper, and the lower lip hangs down.
Step 3
To determine the age more accurately, examine the horse's teeth. To do this, stand on the right side and insert your right hand through the toothless edge into the oral cavity. Move your tongue to the side with the middle and forefinger of your right hand, and with the left, fix your head in an elevated position. To do this, hold your head by your upper lip and the bridge of your nose.
Step 4
If you need to determine the age of a foal, keep in mind that the milk teeth erupt at 1-2 weeks of age, the middle incisors at 30-45 days, and the milk edges at 6-7 months.
Step 5
Look if the cups on the milk incisors are worn out, if they are worn out only on the toes - horses are at least 10-12 months old; if there are no more cups on the middle incisors, then the animal is over a year old; the most recent cups are erased on the edges - at 15-24 months.
Step 6
To determine the age of an adult horse, assess the condition of the permanent incisors. Please note that the hooks are cut at 2, 5 years and after six months are leveled, the middle incisors appear at 3, 5 years; then, at 4, 5 years, the edges appear and by 5 years they also level out.
Step 7
To determine the age of a horse between 6 and 11 years old, examine the lower incisors. Remember the following sequence of erasure of the cups: toes - 6 years, middle incisors - 7 years, edges - 8 years. If all cups are worn out, go to the upper incisors. Here the sequence is, respectively, 9, 10 and 11 years.
