The mare lives usually for twenty-five years,
though instances have occurred of their attaining the age of forty.
The male is less long-lived than the female by reason of the sexual
service he is called on to render; and horses that are reared in a
private stable live longer than such as are reared in troops. The mare
attains her full length and height at five years old, the stallion
at six; in another six years the animal reaches its full bulk, and
goes on improving until it is twenty years old. The female, then,
reaches maturity more rapidly than the male, but in the womb the
case is reversed, just as is observed in regard to the sexes of the
human species; and the same phenomenon is observed in the case of
all animals that bear several young.
The mare is said to suckle a mule-foal for six months, but not
to allow its approach for any longer on account of the pain it is
put to by the hard tugging of the young; an ordinary foal it allows to
suck for a longer period.
Horse and mule are at their best after the shedding of the
teeth. After they have shed them all, it is not easy to distinguish
their age; hence they are said to carry their mark before the
shedding, but not after.
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