A Thorough Examination For Your Equine Is Essential
by Nic Graham EqD & Olivia Zulian EqD
Dental treatment is an invasive procedure for human or
horse, but a necessity for good health, safe horse riding
and getting 100% performance out of your horse every
time. As your horse communicates with you through
behaviour, it is your responsibility to read these
behaviours and act accordingly. Don’t always assume
that bad behaviour is to ensure you have a bad ride; it
could be a sign of something happening in the mouth.
Social changes, enforced by us onto the horse,
necessitate that Equine Dentistry advances. Previously,
the trend has been to not adjust the Incisor teeth and in
a perfect world you wouldn’t. In the modern equestrian
world, Balance of the horse head is definitive. Just some
of the associated problems from the imbalance of the
head:
• Lack of flexion from poll
• Sublux of latter vertebrae of the back 17 & 18
• Inversion to the bit {under the bit}
• Aversion to the bit {above the bit}
• Crookedness and lack of bend and flexion of the
neck & body
• Avoidance to the half-halt, upward & downward
transitions
• TMJ Problems – TemporoMandibular Joint
ranging from head shyness to unsoundness.
Whole mouth Dentistry is care of all the teeth of the
mouth - not just the back ones. Remember the old days
(movies) where they would check the horses front teeth
to see if it was a good horse or not?
You should be aware that proper equine dentistry has a
lot more to it than just sticking a float into the horse's
mouth and rasping a few strokes. It involves, or should
involve, much more than the routine "floating".
A thorough examination is essential!
Your Dentist should watch your horse move and look at
his muscle structure, palpate the TMJ and areas
surrounding the head before they get to looking in the
horse’s mouth.
They should then look, touch and feel to examine the
teeth and the mouth thoroughly to check for any
abnormalities or loose teeth. Don't be happy until your
Dentist has taken a flashlight or a headlamp and actually
LOOKs into the mouth, and also puts his hand in to
FEEL everywhere.
The horse should be examined for abnormal eruption
patterns, malocclusions, wear pattern, sharp points,
loose teeth, cracked teeth, pockets, infections, retained
caps etc.
The horse should be checked that the lateral movement
of the mandible (lower jaw) is normal and that the teeth
make grinding possible.
The masticatory muscles are checked for soreness or
swelling. Remember that many muscles of mastication
are intimately connected to the muscles of locomotion.
And after all this you do the necessary treatment and
corrections to any problems that might be present.
100% Occlusion = 100% Performance
Does your dentist measure your horses mouth before
and after he has worked on your horse to make sure he
is in 100% occlusion? If your horse is not in occlusion
(as we see in 99% of horses, and where 60% are just
functional), then you will NEVER fix or improve
straightness, good poll pressure, or flexion, let alone the
normal dental problems such as under/over bites, parrot
mouths and dental diseases.
It scares me now to think that many of my dentists used
to go in rasp/float, pull caps etc. But how does he know
which side of my horse needs more rasping than the
other without measuring it first? He could have been
putting it into further Malocclusion!
We are professional dentists we measure, check,
measure, check etc. We want an even mouth for 100%
Performance.
The Cost Issue
You can reduce the feed by several kilos a day if the
teeth are regularly taken care of. A horse that can't chew
its food can get impactions of the throat and also
intestines (one of the causes of colic symptoms) and it
can also cause diarrhoea. Avoid unnecessary disease
and suffering. A high performance horse needs all the
nutrition and energy it possibly can from his food. If he
can't chew properly, he can't digest properly. Improve
performance by having a pain free horse that can chew
and digest efficiently.
How often should my horse have their teeth
checked?
Newborns to Yearlings
Only if Dental problems are occurring
Check for normal occlusion of the mouth, you can do this
yourself by having the head vertical and running your
fingers along the incisors to see if they meet evenly.
This will be an indication of whether the jaw is in correct
alignment. Maloccluded mouths can be corrected by an
Equine Dentist who may be able to encourage a more
desirable alignment. If left untreated it will create huge
dental problems in the future.
18 Months
First Visit
If your yearling has a normal mouth then your first date
with an Equine Dentist should be performed around the
age of 18months. We usually start to see ulcers
occurring in the mouth for the first time as well as hooks
starting to develop at this age. Hooks can have long
term effects on the developing skull structure.
2 yo – 5 yo
6 Monthly
A young horse will shed their deciduous (baby) Teeth
referred to as a cap. These teeth often do not shed on
time becoming a huge problem in the horse’s mouth.
Retained caps cause impaction or mal-positioning of the
permanent teeth.
A very important thing to consider at this age is removing
their wolf teeth (Certainly before a bit ever enters into his
mouth)
If you cannot see their wolf teeth then they may be blind,
which is ever more unpleasant with a bit.
Remember your baby is shedding 18 deciduous teeth,
with his permanents erupting. I’m sure all the mothers
and fathers would understand what it was like when your
babies were teething!
5 yo – 16 yo
Annually
At this age we are looking for hooks, ramps, Excessive
transverse ridging and stepped molars, also to make
sure that the Incisors are in full excursion. In other words
without these problems the horses jaw can move more
freely. You will find the horse will round at the poll easier
without stiffness or tension caused his teeth.
It is also at this age when we need to start looking for
dental diseases and keeping the mouth in Occlusion this
will ensure maximum life for all teeth.
16 yo – Aged
Annually – Unless previous Dental Problems
We see the same issues as we see in the previous age
group, but as the horse goes into his 20’s the teeth are
beginning to wear out and keeping them working in
100% Occlusion is important in them maintaining weight
and being free from pain.
Also to note that Bacteria in the horse’s gums can cause
endocaditis, kidney problems etc. Remember your
horses teeth develop problems in his youth that can be
life threatening to him as he gets older.
“Most resistance in a horse, is caused through his
mouth”
Copyright © Nic Graham & Olivia Zulian EqD 2009
Nic Graham EqD
Phone: 0438 822 704
www.performancedentistry.com.au
info@performancedentistry.com.au