Does ‘Performance Dentistry’ Improve Horse Rideability?

Dentistry—including balanced alignment of the teeth and jaws—is an important part of good horse health and welfare.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Does
Only professionals with specific training and experience in equine dentistry should assess the masticatory system and equilibrate dentition, Moine cautioned. | Photo: Stephanie L. Church/The Horse

Performance dentistry refers to equine dental care that gives horses a more balanced mouth, with better tooth alignment, in addition to basic dental care. The idea is it makes the equine athlete perform better and easier to ride—a concept known as “rideability.”

For years, some professionals have claimed they see a marked improvement in rideability after performance dentistry. But science has yet to confirm this theory. That’s why Swiss researchers set out to test performance dentistry’s effects on the rideability of their country’s national stud horses.

To their surprise, they found no link between performance dentistry and rideability, said Sébastien Moine, MedVet, of the Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the University of Bern and Agroscope, both in Bern

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
296 votes · 296 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!