Let's Ride - Dental Care for Your Horse

If you have ever had a toothache, you know how painful and worrisome it can be. All it takes for us to understand the importance of our own dental health care is to have one abscessed tooth. How many of you are cringing at the thought? Now, think about having a toothache and putting a 5-inch piece of metal (like a bit) in contact with it. I bet that would bring you to tears!

Interestingly, most dental problems are seen in domesticated horses, rather than their wild relatives that run free upon the rangelands in the western United States. Domestication has altered the types of food consumed and the amount of time spent eating. This results in reduced chewing time, which in turn alters the wear patterns of the teeth.

Horses are no different than us in that preventive dental care will keep their teeth healthy and, for the most part, free from many of the problems that can arise from improper growth, wear, and care. Just as with humans, good equine health care begins at a young age. Your veterinarian may be able to "float" your horse's teeth to correct such problems as sharp points, hooks, ramps, wave mouth, etc. Equine dentists specialize in equine dental care and may provide a more in-depth treatment plan than a veterinarian.

When a foal is born, it will have three baby teeth (deciduous) in its upper jaw and three in its lower jaw. By the time it reaches weanling age (6-to-8 months), the upper and lower incisors will come in. Any hooks or incisor overbites should be floated to allow for normal growth. Allowing incisors to grow abnormally will create a "parrot-mouthed" horse. Baby teeth that are improperly positioned or retained too long will need to be removed.

Between the ages of 2 and 3 years, the horse's mouth should be examined and teeth floated before you begin bit training. Any retained caps, such as baby teeth, should be removed (if they are ready).

If the wolf teeth have grown in, they should be removed, too. Wolf teeth will interfere with bit placement and can cause mouth pain and interfere with training. If a horse shakes his head a lot or misbehaves while bitted up, he may be experiencing mouth pain. You should always eliminate the possibility of dental pain before thinking your horse is simply misbehaving.

Sometimes a "bit seat" will need to be created by rounding the first upper and lower cheek teeth that contact the gums and soft tissue of the mouth when a bit is placed in the horse's mouth. If the bit seat is not created, the soft tissue will become painfully inflamed from being pinched between the bit and teeth.

By the time a horse is 5 years old, all 44 permanent teeth should have come in. It is at this point, that irregular wear patterns will most likely present themselves. Annual dental examinations and floating are necessary to maintain balance in your horse's mouth.

As the horse matures beyond the age of 10, it may require more frequent examinations. This particularly is the case for horses that did not receive good dental care in their younger years.

In addition to acting up while bitted, there are other tell-tale signs that your horse's teeth may require floating. Horses that eat slowly or drop a lot of their grain while eating may require dental intervention. Undigested food seen in manure may be the result of poor chewing. Constant working of the mouth or tongue can indicate a worrisome dental problem or sores on the tongue which result from sharp pointed teeth.

Proper and timely dental care will allow your horse to lead a longer and more productive life, which will in turn provide you many years with a trusted partner.