Dental Care for Horses

Horses' teeth are very different compared to other types of livestock and animals, making routine dental care essential. Routine maintenance includes periodic examinations and floating. In North Carolina, it is required to have a licensed veterinarian to perform any dental work. 

Horses are grazing animals and have teeth that are suited for that, with front incisors for tearing forage and premolars and molars, or cheek teeth, for grinding feed before swallowing. They have two sets of teeth, baby teeth or deciduous teeth and adult or permanent teeth. A foal should have all their baby teeth by the time they are 8 months old and adult teeth by the time they are five years old. Adult stallions and geldings will have 40 teeth while mares will have between 36 and 40 because they are less likely to have canine teeth. Horses are often aged based on different characteristics their teeth take on as the animal ages. 

When horses chew they do so in a sideways motion and their bottom rows of cheek teeth are closer together than the upper rows. This creates sharp points on the outside of the upper molars and the inside of the lower molars. If these points are left unattended it can cause lacerations on the cheeks and tongue making it extremely painful for the horse to chew. Other dental problems include broken teeth, abnormal or uneven bite planes, excessively worn teeth or long teeth, misalignment due to congenital defects or injury, and lost teeth. 

If a horse is suffering from a dental problem, they may show obvious signs but signs may also go unnoticed. This is one reason why periodic dental examinations are essential. Some indicators that your horse is having a dental issue includes dropping feed while eating, difficulty chewing, loss of body condition, large feed particles in manure, and unwillingness to accept the bit while riding. Floating is the term used for routine maintenance on a horse's teeth. During this process, the sharp edges on the teeth created when the horse chews are removed.

The frequency of required dental work depends on the age of the horse. Foals should be examined to determine if there are any congenital abnormalities. These can develop over the first year so periodic checks may be required to diagnose and correct any issues. Baby teeth tend to be softer than permanent teeth, therefore yearlings up to horses five years old may require more frequent dental exams and floatings than older horses. Horses aged 6 to late teens should be checked at least annually to maintain correct dental alignment and identify problems as soon as possible. Senior horses are at increased risk of developing dental issues. 

Having your veterinarian perform periodic dental examinations on your horse will help catch any problems early. The longer an issue goes undiagnosed and untreated the more difficult it can be when trying to correct the condition.