Richardson J D, Cripps P J, Hillyer M H, O'Brien J K, Pinsent P J, Lane J G
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford.
Vet Rec. 1995 Jul 22;137(4):88-90. doi: 10.1136/vr.137.4.88.
There is a widely held belief that a horse can be accurately aged by an examination of its teeth but this belief has recently been questioned. In this study photographs were taken of the dentition of 434 thoroughbreds of known age. Four experienced equine clinicians provided estimates of the ages of the horses from the photographs. A comparison of the estimated and true ages showed large discrepancies in many cases and the discrepancies increased as the horse's true age increased. The results show that the ageing of horses from their dentition is an imprecise science. It is suggested that written records of the dental features are made on each occasion when a dental examination is made and that veterinary surgeons advise clients that estimating a horse's age from dental criteria can provide no more than an 'informed guess'.
人们普遍认为，通过检查马的牙齿可以准确判断其年龄，但这种观点最近受到了质疑。在这项研究中，对434匹已知年龄的纯种马的牙列进行了拍照。四位经验丰富的马科临床医生根据照片对马的年龄进行了估计。估计年龄与实际年龄的比较显示，在许多情况下存在很大差异，并且随着马的实际年龄增加，差异也会增大。结果表明，根据牙列判断马的年龄是一门不精确的科学。建议每次进行牙齿检查时都记录牙齿特征，并且兽医应告知客户，根据牙齿标准估计马的年龄最多只能是一种“有根据的猜测”。
