Why Look A Horse In The Mouth?


Have you ever heard the expression, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?” Or, “I got it straight from the horse’s mouth?” Where did these expressions come from?

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” refers to being rude or ungrateful for a gift or opportunity. It stems from the fact that horse dealers look at a horse's teeth to determine how old a horse is and his predisposition to remaining healthy into old age.

“Straight from the horse’s mouth,” refers to knowing something is true or valid because of where the information came from. It stems from the fact that it is almost impossible to be deceived about a horse’s age if you’re good at judging it by their teeth.

Judging a horse’s age by his teeth is skill that can be learned with practice if you know what to look for. Telling the age of a young horse is easier and more reliable than an older horse because horses, like humans, lose their baby teeth at predictable ages. The two teeth in the very front (top and bottom) are called the central incisors; they will fall out at about two years old, the next set over (intermediate incisors) at about three, and the adult corner incisors at about four years of age. Along the side of the horse’s mouth is a gap with no teeth, before the molars begin (where you can safely stick your finger in to make him open and take a bit). Male horses also develop little teeth in this gap sometimes called canine teeth, bridle teeth, or tushes. These teeth come in around the age of four. A female can have these teeth, but it is very rare.

After the age of six, it gets harder to tell the age. You need to look at the flat part where the top and bottom of the front teeth meet; which means you can’t just pull open the lips, but have to get the horse’s mouth open. At the center of the flat surface on these teeth is a depression called the infundibulum. These depressions, or pits, start to disappear at six years of age beginning with the bottom central teeth first.

They continue to lose their pits in order from the central to corner incisors, first on the bottom teeth, then the top. By the age of seven the central pits are gone and the corner incisors develop a hook off the back edge.

The copyright of the article Why Look A Horse In The Mouth? in Horse Talk is owned by Patricia Celley. Permission to republish Why Look A Horse In The Mouth? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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