Top 10 Things To Know Inside Your Horse’s Mouth – HorseTalk Webinar

(Above) A tarter encrusted foreign object on the base of the tongue. The piece of tarter was the size of a guitar pick and just as thin.

Discussion:
Here are ten things you should know inside the mouth:
1) Horses chew a lot

  • Chew 25,000 times per day on average
  • Chewing causes points

2) Horses are continuous eaters

  • No gall bladder – no need to store bile
  • Hypsodont teeth – continuously erupting

3) The purpose of chewing

  • Create a swallowable bolus
  • Role of incisors
  • Role of canine teeth
  • Role of wolf teeth
  • Role of cheek teeth

4) Why do the teeth need floating? How often?

  • Chewing causes points, but the tongue strops them into a razor’s edge
  • The individual threshold of pain
  • The purpose of the tongue
  • The hardness of the teeth
  • What they chew, and how often

5) Young horse’s mouths

  • Caps – the deciduous teeth of the incisors and pre-molars
  • Wolf teeth – to pull or not to pull
  • Blind wolf teeth

6) Old horse’s mouths

  • End-stage teeth
  • Quidding
  • Prevention plus genetics
  • Feeding toothless horses

7) What else can happen inside the mouth besides sharp points

  • Cavities
  • Split teeth
  • Abscessed tooth roots
  • EOTRH
  • Foreign objects
  • Trauma
  • Ulcers

8) Signs of dental problems

  • Quidding
  • Bit objections
  • Change in chewing behavior – abnormal positioning, altered rate
  • Insidious onset – often no signs, especially with good riders

9) The different processes of dentistry and who should perform it

  • Floating is husbandry
  • Extractions and medication is a veterinary practice
  • Hand floating versus power tools – all roads lead to Rome
  • But where is Rome?
  • Is all dentistry the same?

10) Why we prefer Horsemanship Dentistry™

  • 90% only need floating
  • 92% without medication
  • We have the horse become a willing partner in the process
  • Dentistry is a process, not an event
  • Our goal is to remove all sources of oral pain

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