Animal Science

SavvyExacta, sorry to hear about Joe - the pictures show that he was a very beautiful horse!

This article itself is interesting as I never would have thought that horses' teeth change that much through out their lives. Great blog, as always

Why are you told not to look a gift horse in the mouth?

Has not to do with a horses teeth; its a proverb:

According to the proverb, if one is given a horse as a gift, then that person should accept the gift without seeking a closer look, at least in front of the giver. After all, a gift is free; if the recipient did not pay for the horse, then why should he nitpick about its age, health or other features?

The gift horse metaphor does break down, though, particularly in modern times. Certainly, horses may be had for free, often by adoption or from rescue organizations. Such equines generally are not free, in the long run. Keeping a horse can be quite costly, even if the initial cost of the animal was little or none.

Truly, there is no such thing as a free horse. And, unless you happen to own acres and acres of grassy wilderness, there is no such thing as a free lunch for that free horse.

WHAT DOES THE PROVERB MEAN?

Metaphorically, the expression means that one should accept a gift graciously and gratefully, without criticizing the gift or giver.

Remember the old Hallmark card commercials, where the recipients flipped greeting cards over to look for the price and brand name? Yep! Those folks were looking their gift horses in the mouths! People who peek at price tags on gifts fit the same bill.

The gift horse proverb fits nicely with another popular quotation about gifts, "It's the thought that counts." In other words, the spirit of giving itself counts for much more than the actual features, or even pricing, of the item that is given.

WHERE DID THIS OLD SAW START?

According to several sources, this ancient proverb has been credited to St. Jerome (374 AC 419 AD), an early Christian church father. In his study on the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, written about 400 AD, St. Jerome actually said, "Never inspect the teeth of a gift

Thanks for the elaboration on the proverb.

But with horses, teeth really do tell the story - at least parts of it.

An older horse with really worn-down teeth will have trouble chewing and eating - this can be a serious problem. It's often challenging to keep weight on older horses as it is; if they can't even get the food down, the remaining options are expensive and often not worth it.

A horse with poor dental conformation also faces problems. Such a horse can be difficult to train due to pain or can also face problems with chewing and eating. Sometimes these problems can be repaired at an expense.

Back in the days when horses were used for labor/income, an important factor when acquiring a horse was to get one that still had quite a few years left to go. Why put training time/feed into something that would only last a year? (Similar thinking to why put thousands of dollars into a car that only has 10,000 miles left?) If a horse's teeth had been altered to look younger, this could pose a problem - which is why careful examination was important.

Even today, as you suggest, a free horse is not really "free" at all. Horses require some form of shelter, regular veterinary and dental care, hoof care (a common proverb in the equine world is "no hoof no horse!"), deworming, and some supplementation to grass particularly in the winter or dry seasons. This, of course, is the bare minimum and does not even begin to cover riding equipment!

Hello SavvyExacta,

The details you list on horses teeth etc is interesting, but, your question was: 'Why do they say not to look a gift horse in the mouth'.

Meaning, as 'wire' said in his post..................If you are given a horse, a car or anything, you should not be critical of it in front of the person who gave it to you! Nothing to do with shelter and all the other stuff you mention at all.

What ever was given was given as a gift, and, as at Xmas, you do not open a present and start saying critical stuff above what was a present!

I hope you do not take this as an insult, it is not supposed to be one! And, while the list of stuff a horse 'needs' to be kept healthy etc, is nice to read, it has nothing whatsoever to do with your question. OK? All I am doing is answering your original question, not being critical at all, other than in explanation.

bb

Actually, the details I note do have something to do with my original question. If you reread the opening to my blog post, you'll see that I wrote: "Why are you told not to look a gift horse in the mouth? Because a horse's teeth are a good indication of how old it is!"

Older horses, like older people, often require more care - that often comes at an increased cost. Many truly senior horses cannot be used for riding or other recreational activities (or work in days past). They are just "pasture ornaments" as we like to call them.

So before taking on any horse, especially an older one which may have special needs, it's important to know what you're getting into. This is the same reason why they say not to give puppies as Christmas gifts or bunnies in Easter baskets. It would be unfair to the animal to accept it out of politeness but then neglect it later. It's much different from receiving a book you don't like that can just sit unread on a shelf.

Hello SavvyExacta,

thank you for your reply post.

The last 2 lines of the post "So before taking on any horse, especially an older one which may have special needs, it's important to know what you're getting into" sort of let me understand where you are coming from.

It is not at all important to know what you are getting into! It is a gift, whether it is an animal, cake, car, house or a favour someone has done, you never make any kind of remark or critical opinion about ANY gift you get. Just receive it with grace.

However, it is only a saying, and I think you missed the total meaning as, not very many animals are given as presents, and this saying is often linked to something someone has done for you rather than an actual gift. In which case what the horse looks like has no import at all. But it is hardly worth getting lathered up over, so as to speak?

Take care.....bb

Actually, it is important. Many animals are neglected, abandoned, or turned over to shelters or rescue organizations each year as a result of being "gifted" to unsuspecting owners. Animals can make terrible gifts unless you are 100% certain in advance that the recipient is prepared to take on that responsibility - for the life of the animal, not until he or she is tired of it.

In regards to looks not mattering, well, that's a whole other arguement that we could spend days on. However, suitability is better suited for a separate blog entry.

I don't believe that SavvyExacta was implying that the old proverb was said because you can tell the age of the horse with its' teeth. I think she knew the moral connotations of the proverb that you shouldn't be critical of gifts from people. She seems to just be playing with words. She took a clever proverb and turned it into a clever title for her blog that applied to the information she was presenting.

It was a very interesting article. I appreciated the ingenious title. Now I have another good reason not to look at horses in the mouth besides the odd odors. My hopes in a successful pet of the year, he was definitely the cutest amonst the bunch!

Thanks for clarifying what I was trying to explain, Jaxy! You said it more clearly and in fewer words. Yes, horses do have many teeth, and they are large! Thanks also for the comment on the horse - he had a lot of personality.

Hello Jaxy,

Yes, I think you are right when you say the OP was "playing with words"! And what was written was and is interesting. And I am sure there will be other animal lovers who will add more info as the thread goes on.

As I pointed out in both my posts, I was not being nasty in any way, just adding my remarks and opinions, nothing more nothing less.

And yes I do think it was a clever title, but I assumed the title would be followed by remarks referring to the saying, rather than to the anatomy of a horse and whether one could afford to keep it etc.

Take care...........bb

the title attracted people that may have otherwise disregarded it. I must say "Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth" sounds more interesting than "Looking at a Horse in the Mouth".

Amen, Jaxy.

Thank you for reply,

Okay then, I am glad to have had the opportunity to present to others the proper meaning of a saying that has confused them for so long

The OPs subject is indeed interesting and informative and I applaud the them for considering the subject meaningful and presenting it.

WHERE DID THIS OLD SAW START?

Go back to the Trojan War for the significance of the "gift horse" given by the Acheans to gain access to the city of Troy. Their army, concealed in the horse, took the city and burned it. Had they examined the horse, the army would have been discovered. Thus, it is wise to examine a gift from an enemy, but an insult to examine one from a friend.