Dental Plan for the Working Horse

Routine equine dental care is important for three reasons, says David O. Klugh, DVM, Fellow in the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, owner of Equine Dental Associates in Yamhill, Ore.:

  • Making sure deciduous teeth come out and adul
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Routine equine dental care is important for three reasons, says David O. Klugh, DVM, Fellow in the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, owner of Equine Dental Associates in Yamhill, Ore.:



  • Making sure deciduous teeth come out and adult teeth erupt in proper alignment;
  • Maximizing tooth longevity; and
  • Addressing causes of immediate pain.

It’s the latter that becomes especially important for the working horse–the animal that is in heavy training, competing, or employed in some activity (i.e., school horse, camp horse, police work, driving, etc.). “Whether a horse works or not isn’t meaningful concerning the development of tooth problems,” Klugh notes, “but work can be an influence on how sensitive they are to the development of minor tooth problems. A horse that has a small point or sharp edge may not care at all if he’s out in the pasture, but if that horse is in a bit, even the most minor sources of pain are accentuated.”


“Behavior” Problems


Horses with painful dental problems sometimes duck or toss their heads when they’re being bitted or touched about the muzzle. Some engage in head shaking or head tucking, or they avoid or fuss with the bit. Their performance can be marred because they won’t collect properly or maintain correct carriage or headset. They refuse or hesitate at fences or don’t handle turns with the same tightness

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:

Marcia King is an award-winning freelance writer based in Ohio who specializes in equine, canine, and feline veterinary topics. She’s schooled in hunt seat, dressage, and Western pleasure.

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?
284 votes · 284 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!