Determining the Age of a Horse by Their Teeth

One of the most reliable methods for determining a horse’s age (if you don’t have access to their registration papers) is by looking at their front teeth. While this test is not always dead on the money it is much more reliable than feeling the jawbone or pinching the skin.

The method of determining a horse’s age by looking at their teeth dates all the way back to 700 B.C in China. The name we still associate today with determining age from teeth is Sydney Galvayne, who was an Australian horse trainer in the 19th century. Today, the groove that is noticeable in an older horse’s teeth is called the Galvayne.

In the 1880’s Galvayne made his living by traveling throughout Europe and determining the age of horses by their teeth and showing other people how to do the same. His system was later taught in veterinary colleges and even today are found in standard veterinary references. In the past few years we have been able to determine that there are actually exceptions to the Galvayne system.

Sydney Galvayne also caused a stir among horse dealers who were less than honorable. His claims that he could accurately age any horse by their teeth caused some dealer’s to drill new cups into the incisors and then either burn or dye them so they would look like younger horses teeth. To make a horse appear older by their teeth, the dealer would pull the horse’s baby teeth.

The problem with the Galvayne system was that he based his generalities on a large group of horses he dealt with that were kept in similar conditions as well as similar management conditions. Because these horses had similar breeding and were fed the same food, the patterns in the wear on their teeth was very similar.

We have learned that teeth can lie about the age of a horse. Studies have shown if several different experts try to determine a horse’s age by their teeth each may come up with a different answer and be off by as much as 7 or 8 years.