A Guide with Five Tips to Good Dental Care for Your Horse

Owning a horse is one of the greatest joys in the world for the horse lover. We love our horses and we want them to be healthy and happy. To that end, one very important thing to do when you own a horse is to maintain their teeth. This article will give you five dental tips to help you in caring for your horses teeth.

Horses' teeth are essentially grinding surfaces that are worn down as the horse eats his food. Horse's teeth grow during their entire lifetime, up until they are about twenty five years of age. Each tooth the horse has is around two to three and a half inches long with most of the tooth under the skin and embedded in the jawbone. The average growth rate for horse teeth is approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch per year which means that the horse will "run out" of tooth as they grow older. This makes dental care especially important as your horse grows older but proper dental care for horses really begins when they are young.

Dental Care Tips for Horses: Tip #1: Examine your horses' teeth from birth

If you own your horse from the time he is born, exam the foal's teeth as soon as possible. It is a good idea to regularly handle the foal and his mouth and head to make it easier and safer to handle the horse as he grows older. If you do not own your horse from the time he is born, as most of us do not, examine your horses' teeth before you buy him to make sure there are no serious dental problems. Dental problems can negatively affect the usefulness of the horse and the activities he will be asked to do. Of course a veterinarian check up is always a good idea before you buy any horse.

Dental Care Tips for Horses: Tip #2: Remove baby teeth if you will be training your two year old horse

Horses are born with baby teeth called caps that get pushed out by the horses permanent teeth when they are around two years old. This process can take up to two months to happen and there will often be some soreness and pain for the horse during the process. This can make handling and training the young horse difficult especially when the horse is in training for the race track, for example. During this time, the caps may be removed by a veterinarian to help avoid pain for the horse thereby making training much more pleasant and safer for everyone.

Many horses also have wolf teeth, perhaps as many as eighty percent of them. This is an extra tooth that is generally on the top of the mouth in between the front teeth and the back molars. If the wolf teeth grow in at the wrong angle, either crooked or in not quite the right spot, the bit can hit the wolf teeth and cause the horse pain. Some trainers have the wolf teeth removed by the veterinarian along with the baby teeth.

Dental Care Tips for Horses: Tip #3: Plan regular dental care for your horse

Since a horse is only as good as his teeth, it is a good idea to plan for regular dental check ups. With your young horse, you may need to check his teeth every few months to find out how well his baby teeth are coming out in case they need to be removed (see tip #2). For an adult horse who has lost all his baby teeth, by around the age of five, it is best to have your horses' teeth checked at least once every year though the older a horse gets, every six months is even better. As the horse gets older and his teeth grind down with each mouthful of food, there is often some uneven wear that can cause problems. The teeth can wear down in a way that leaves sharp edges that will stab into the horses' mouth as he eats and this can cause the horse to quit eating to avoid the pain.

Some of the signs to look for if you think your horse might be having dental problems is a change in his eating
habits, losing weight, bad breath, dropping half-eaten mouthfuls of food, holding his head at an angle or even certain types of bad behavior such as bolting and head tossing while being ridden.

Dental Care Tips for Horses: Tip #4: Mouth and Teeth Problems

If you have noticed that your horse is having problems (see tip #3), the problem may be uneven teeth that have been discovered during the horses' regular dental check up. Uneven teeth can be corrected through a process called "floating." Floating is when a horses teeth are filed down so that the teeth are even and will wear in a natural manner as the horse eats. This helps the horse to get the proper nutrition needed for good health. In younger horses, teeth that are misshapen can even be filed over a period of time to get the tooth as close to the one nature intended. Broken teeth, if they are not filed to the same level as the other teeth, continue to grow and can possibly even grow into the horses gums.

In older horses, periodontal disease can be a major problem. The teeth wear unevenly and can cause gaps at the gums or holes in the actual tooth which can trap food. When food is trapped and left in the mouth, bacteria grows which can cause periodontal disease or even a tooth abscess. The veterinarian will need to carefully remove any food particles in the teeth or any holes in the gums. Sometimes teeth that can not be saved will have to be removed as well. The horse may need a series of antibiotics to become completely well.

Regular dental check ups can be done by a veterinarian or someone who is specially trained in equine dentistry. To help you find a qualified equine dentist in your area, check out the article by Dr. Bartlett at Equisearch here.

According to Horsewyse Magazine, there are no nerves in horses' teeth so floating will not cause your horse pain. To see the dental tools that a veterinarian may use, check out the Equine Blades Direct website.

Dental Care Tips for Horses: Tip #5: You may need to make changes in how you care for your horse

If your older horse is prone to getting food stuck in his teeth, the veterinarian may want you to "floss" your horses' teeth or rather, flush your horses mouth on a regular basis. The vet will let you know how and when, perhaps by using a Waterpik. Another thing the vet may recommend is to change your horses feed. If your horses' teeth are in such poor condition that he is unable to chew his food properly, you may need to change his feed to hay cubes or pellets that can be softened with water so your horse can chew and digest them.

With proper dental care, your horse will live a healthier and more useful life. Whether you are riding the trails or showing your horse, take care of your horses' teeth and you will have many happy years together.

Resources:
Barakat, Christine. "Your Aging Horse: Dental Problems." Equus Magazine September 2009: 32-36. Print.
Horsewyse Magazine.
KBR Horse Health Information.
Wikipedia.org: Horse Teeth.