The value of good Equine Dentistry

The nature of breaking-in, training & educating horses requires, amongst other things, for the animal to have a bit placed in it’s mouth & pressure applied to the mouth via the use of a rider’s hands. Education, leading & riding are greatly affected by what is happening in the mouth. These unnatural events for a horse place pressure & weight on large areas of the mouth &, not surprisingly, can greatly influence resulting behaviour.

Ironically, the time in which we ask the most of a young horse (1 year to 5 years) is also the time that the horse’s mouth is going through the greatest changes. During this period the horse is struggling with the ‘cutting’ or loss of 24 deciduous or ‘milk’ teeth & the eruption of 36 permanent teeth. The normal horse may also be faced with the eruption of up to 4 wolf teeth & the possibility of up to 4 canines depending upon sex. From 2 until 5 the mouth is in a volatile state of change. The mouth continues to change throughout the life of the horse but no changes are as great as the ones during those early years.

Poorly or improperly cared for teeth can result in:

• Impaired chewing (feed loss from the mouth)
• Poor digestion of food (impaction, weight loss, colic)
• Performance & behavioural issues (pain) - implications for handler/rider
• Decreased life span. Research has shown that the lifespan of an average horse can be increased by 10 years with good equine dental care.

All these issues affect a horse performing to his/her optimum level. They also have considerable cost implications for the owner. The life & the ability of the horse to perform is dependent for the most part on the life of the teeth. Each equine athlete’s ability is reflected by the condition of the mouth.