Horse Drops Feed

My horse has an unusual problem. A dentist has worked on him, but he still drops his oats while trying to eat them. Now he is being fed pellets. I do not know if grazing is a problem for him, but he did drop in weight during the winter.
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Q:My horse has an unusual problem. A dentist has worked on him, but he still drops his oats while trying to eat them. Now he is being fed pellets. I do not know if grazing is a problem for him, but he did drop in weight during the winter. Do you have any idea what the problem might be? If his teeth were in need of treatment for a long period of time, could he have developed a bad way of eating to avoid pain?

Colin, via e-mail


A: There are many reasons that a horse might drop feed, and while I can’t give you a definitive diagnosis on the information that you have provided, I can offer advice on how to go about understanding why your horse may exhibit these clinical signs.

It’s important to first figure out a few key pieces of information, and they are as follows: How old is the horse? A young horse dropping feed is different from an old horse dropping feed. Young horses can drop feed because their teeth have sharp points or retained caps, and they can have dental complications as their permanent teeth erupt (See page 58 of the March 2011 issue for an illustration of how teeth erupt). Older horses often drop feed because of dental malocclusion or an uneven bite, sharp points, or missing or loose teeth

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Written by:

Julia Wolfe, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, is a veterinarian with the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.

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