All good horse owners know that horses need to see the dentist usually about once a year, depending on their age and condition of their teeth. Not seeing a dentist could lead to behaviour issues, dips in performance and long term could cause a serious health risk.
Scottie’s Dentistry Needs
Scottie has slightly unique dentistry needs. This is because he is missing a front tooth or two and has a few damaged teeth. He had this before I got him and it happened to him when he was in the racing industry. I would guess that he got kicked following a horse too closely, but I don’t know for sure.
Because of his missing and damaged top teeth, I have to keep an eye on his bottom teeth as if these grow too long they can irritate his top gums. Luckily he tolerates me looking in his mouth at his missing teeth, so I can keep an eye on them to see if they are getting a bit long and luckily for me, there is also an equine vet at our yard too. So if I have any doubts she can always have a quick look and see what she thinks.
So far I have been lucky in that they haven’t grown fast enough to need doing more than once a year, which is a relief as I’m not sure he would let you do these ones without sedation, mainly because the device they use to keep a horse’s mouth open for the dentist blocks the teeth in question, so can’t be used for rasping his bottom front teeth.
But these missing teeth don’t seem to cause him any problems. He is still able to eat perfectly well and despite one being a bit wobbly and last year the vet saying she thought it was about to fall out, they are still all there and in the same condition as always. So I don’t have to worry about them yet, although I’m sure as he gets older they will start to cause more of a problem!
Do any of your horses have special dentistry needs?
Last Updated on 14/01/2022
