- Breeding
- Horse Breeding: Covering a Mare
- Horse Breeding, Part 3: Birth and Care of a Foal
- Breeding Costs: Things to Consider
- Buying a Horse
- What to Look For When Buying a Horse
- So You Bought A Friesian, Now what!
- How to Buy Horses: A Step by Step Process
- General Horse Articles
- How to Use the Latest Technology to Get Your Equestrian Fix
- A Good Start Avoids Bit Evasions
- Longeing for Riders
- Horse Feeding
- You’ve Got the Right Feed, Now What?: Proper Feeding Practices
- 5 Horse Feeding "Don'ts"
- A Look at Horse Feed
- Horse Grooming
- Keeping Your Horse Beautiful with Horse Products
- Mane Saving Ideas
- An Overview of Horse Grooming
- Horse Training
- Starting Early: Training the Foal
- Emotionally Neutral Training
- Training Mythunderstandings: Little Things Do Mean a Lot
- Horses & History
- Trail Riding in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area
- The History of Horse Breeding
- The Feral Horse and Its Impact
- Horses & Sports
- Nearly $7 Million Generated Annually for the District of Columbia
- How to Prepare for Your First Equestrian Competition
- Ask Chelsie Natural Horsemanship - What Does It Mean To Disengage My Horse?
Horse Dental Problems and Prevention
05/26/2008
Like humans, horses can develop dental problems that can lead to serious discomfort and surgical procedures. It is important that horse owners have their horse’s teeth examined by a veterinarian regularly and when a dental problem is suspected.
Like humans, horses can develop dental problems that can lead to serious discomfort and surgical procedures. It is important that horse owners have their horse’s teeth examined by a veterinarian regularly and when a dental problem is suspected. These problems can also manifest themselves in what appears to be disobedience by the horse.
Many of these dental problems are direct results from the continuous tooth growth of a horse. Sometimes, as teeth continue to grow and horses continue to wear them down, tooth wear is not even. This can result in sharp edges on a horse’s teeth that can cause painful cutting of the cheek of tongue, which can make riding and eating very painful. Other effects can include reduced chewing efficiency, and interference with jaw motion. Some horse dental terms include:
• Hooks – sharp points on a tooth
• Step mouth – one cheek tooth growing longer than the others in that jaw
• Wave mouth – at least two cheek teeth are higher than the others, creating a wavy line in the pattern of the teeth. This creates very difficult chewing
• Shear mouth – severe sloping of the grinding surfaces of the each individual cheek tooth. Again, this creates very difficult chewing
Determining dental problems
There are some signs that can indicate dental problems in a horse. Here are just a few:
• Changes in horse’s eating patterns
• Weight loss
• Dropping of food while chewing
• Excessive saliva
• Bucking
• Difficulty securing the horse “on-the-bit”
• Tilting of the head while riding
• Tossing of the head
Preventing dental problems
The first course of prevention, as mentioned above, is regular veterinary checks. The general rule of thumb is every six months. If the horse is showing any of the above signs, or there is strong suspicion of a dental problem, then more frequent checks may be needed. Another course of action is “floating” a horse’s teeth. This involves a veterinarian wearing down the surface of a horse’s teeth every twelve months to ensure an even grinding surface. This should be done with extreme care, as mistakes can result in more dental problems.
