3. Next back of these are four sharp teeth, one on each side of each jaw, and these are sometimes called tusks. They are in the same place in the jaw as the long teeth of the dog, and with them the horse can tear things. 4. Next back of the large teeth there is a place where there are no teeth, and this is the place where the bit of the bridle goes when we ride the horse or drive him in a carriage. [Illustration] 5. Next back are six broad, flat teeth, on each side of each jaw, and with these the horse grinds his food before he swallows it. 6. In summer, if our horses have not much to do, we turn them out to pasture, where they eat grass. In winter we give them plenty of hay and oats, and, when they work, we always feed them with grain. 7. Horses will eat grain of any kind, but they seem to like oats best. We sometimes feed them with corn-meal instead of oats. 8. The teeth of a horse change in looks every year until he is eight or nine years old, and men who are used to horses can tell how old they are by just looking at their teeth. 9. The horse does not lap his drink like a cat and dog, but he puts his mouth into the water and swallows whole mouthfuls. He will sometimes drink two or more large buckets of water at a time. LESSON XXIV. _HOW THE PONY GOT SHOD._ [Illustration] 1. “Billy” was a fine pony, brought from Shetland for a little boy to ride to and from school, as the distance was too great to walk. When Billy first came he was barefoot, and when he began his daily journeys he was shod for the first time. 2. The blacksmith who put on the shoes lived quite a long distance from Billy’s home, and the pony had never been over the road but on the day he went to be shod. A few weeks after, the blacksmith saw Billy, without halter or bridle, coming up the road toward the shop. 3. Thinking the pony had strayed away, the blacksmith turned him round, and threw stones at him to make him go back toward home. [Illustration] 4. The pony trotted off; but the blacksmith had only fairly got to work again, when he heard a noise, and, looking up, there stood Billy at the door. 5. This time, before driving him away, the blacksmith took a look at his feet, and found that Billy had lost a shoe. He at once made a new one, and put it on, and then waited to see what Billy would do. 6. The pony looked at the blacksmith for a moment, as if asking whether he was done; then he pawed, to see if the new shoe was all right, gave a neigh for a “thank you, sir,” and set off for home on a brisk trot. His master knew nothing about the matter until next day. LESSON XXV. _WHAT THE HORSE DOES._ [Illustration] 1. To-day we are to find out what the horse is good for. Charlie will tell us whether the horse is of any use on the farm. 2. We could not get on very well without horses on the farm. They are very strong, and will do a great deal of work that a man can not do.