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TOTAL EQUINE VETERINARY ASSOCIATES

Horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and minis

they all need dental care

Routine dental care is essential to your horse's health

Periodic examination, correction, and regular maintenance are especially necessary for a number of reasons:

1.  We have modified the horse's diet and eating pattern through domestication and confinement.

2.  We demand more from our performance horses, beginning at a younger age than ever before.

3.  We often breed animals without regard to dental considerations or conformation.

When turned out on pasture, horses browse almost continuously, picking up dirt and grit in the process.  This, plus the silicates in the grass, wears down the teeth.  Adult horse's teeth erupt throughout their life and are worn off by chewing.   

However, stabled horses do not give their teeth the same workout.  Feedings are more apt to be scheduled, not continuous, and include processed grains and hays. Softer feeds require less chewing.  This allows the horse's teeth to become excessively long and to wear unevenly.   

           Additionally, and even under normal grazing conditions, cheek teeth tend to develop sharp enamel points.  Because the horse's lower jaw is narrower than its upper jaw, and the horse grinds its feed in a sideways/circular motion (not up-and-down), points form along the upper outside and lower inside teeth edges.  

**Proper dental care has its rewards.  Your horse will be more comfortable, will utilize feed more efficiently, may perform better, and may even live longer.

Recognizing Dental Problems

-  Pain, irritation, or no noticeable signs at all.

(horses adapt to their discomfort like people)

-  Loss of feed from the mouth while eating, difficulty chewing,

or excessive salivation.

-  Loss of weight or body condition.

-  Food pouching in the cheek or quidding

           (dropping saliva-soaked wads of feed material)

-  Eating or chewing slowly.

-  Large or undigested feed particles (long stems or whole grains) in manure.

-  Head tilting or tossing, bit chewing, fighting the bit, or resisting the bridle.

-  Poor performance, such as lugging on the bridle, failing to turn or stop,

           and even bucking.

-  Foul odor from the mouth or nostril, or traces of blood.

-  Nasal discharge or swelling of the face, jaw, or mouth tissues.

Some Common Dental Problems

-  Sharp enamel points forming on cheek teeth,

           causing lacerations of the cheek and tongue.

-  Retained caps (deciduous (baby) teeth that are not shed).

-  Discomfort caused by bit contact with the wolf teeth.

-  Long and/or sharp canine (bridle) teeth interfering with the insertion

           or removal of the bit.

-  Lost, broken, or fractured teeth.

-  Excessively worn teeth.

-  Abnormally long teeth.

-  Infected teeth, roots, or gums.

-  Misaligned or poorly apposed teeth (may be congenital).

-  Any over- or under-bite will result in teeth abnormalities.

Overall, the most serious consequences include:

1.  Colic (usually an obstruction or impaction of the intestinal tract, or diarrhea)

2.  Choke (esophageal obstruction by poorly chewed feed material)

3.  Sinusitis (infection extending from a rotting tooth, or tooth root abscess)

4.  Weight loss, poor performance, failure to thrive,

                                       and systemic illness leading to death.  

Preventative Maintenance

           Routine oral examinations and periodic "floating" are needed throughout a horse's life.  Evaluation should begin at 2-3 years of age and continue for their lifetime.  There is no age group without potentially serious problems.

           Generally, younger horses (2-5 years old) have softer teeth than adults.  These teeth develop sharp points more quickly.  Retained caps are baby teeth that don't fall out normally.   

           "Floating" is a procedure done with a file or a powered rasp.  With the "float", the sharp and long teeth are addressed so that proper mastication (chewing) and occlusion occurs.  Floating and the oral exam usually occur once a year, but some patients (like very old patients, or those missing teeth, or maloccluded) may require attention every 6 months.  Similarly, some patients may go 18-24 months between floats.  Every patient is different.  Many factors go into determining the frequency of floating. These factors include age, diet (forage, hay, grain), breed, vices like wood chewing or cribbing, conformation (under- or over-bite), time on pasture, time in stall, environment, and type of soil on pasture.   

           Yes, there is an occasional horse that has never been floated or never needed it.  These stories are becoming much more rare as we have bred away the "perfect mouth" and feed softer, more processed, complete feeds.

           Just like people, horses are living longer.  For a horse to have functional teeth in their 20s and 30s, they need early attention.

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