What does it mean to "look a gift horse in the mouth"?

When purchasing a horse, it common to look at the horse's mouth, specifically it's teeth. The older a horse is, the more its gums recede, and therefore its teeth look "longer". Often, if someone was trying to pass off a horse as only a couple of years old (because younger horses are worth more), they could be caught in a lie by just performing a visual inspection, sometimes just by looking at the horse's mouth. Obviously, if someone gave you a horse, it would be considered rude to give the horse the same kind of inspection you would if you were buying it. The polite thing to do would be to be to just accept the gift horse graciously without scrutinizing it to see if what it might be worth.

When buying a horse many years ago when it was not possible to calculate it's age other than by examining the teeth, it was common practice to look in the horse's mouth to ascertain how old it was. If someone gave you a horse then it would be an insult to look in it's mouth. Thus if someone gave you a gift it would be bad grace to examine it so you should, instead, accept the the gift graciously.

not only the teeth of a horse are indicative of age and health but the mouth of a horse can be damaged by brutal riding and pulling aggressively on the bridle, so that the bit harms the inside of the mouth. to look a gift horse example when you are delighted: she has asked you to go to dinner with her, stop fussing about what to wear and where to go, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

A horse with bad teeth is ready for the glue factory (or shooting) which means the gift is more liability than benefit. Taken to the extreme it signifies an ungrateful or picky recipient of a gift.

It (as far as I can tell) has nothing to do with the Trojan Horse, which, as you say SHOULD have been examined more closely.

It s to do with the fact that you can tell how old a horse is by looking at its teeth. If someone gives you a horse, it s rude to examine it too closely (at least while the donor is present). It s a free horse! Enjoy it!

Essentially, don't be ungrateful of a gift. Or be critical of it, etc.

It references the Trojan Horse , a gift that should have been questioned , So I am confused by the reference but that is the answer.

Look it up on google instead of asking untrustworthy people, idiot.