Suzanne Redford
Equine Dental Services
Wolf Teeth - To Extract or Not to Extract? That is the question!
Wolf teeth are teeth in a world of their own, some horses have none, others have one or two, and some have even more! They mainly occur in the upper jaw,
however on rare occasions have been known to occur in the lower jaw as well. There seems to be no trend to which horses have them as they can occur in all breeds and sexes. Interestingly,
it seems that almost all Zebras have wolf teeth, however their presence in horses is not nearly as high.
Wolf teeth are actually remnants of what were once functional cheek teeth millions of years ago. They form where the cheek tooth root once was, and although they come in a variety
of sizes, are always much smaller in comparison to the horse's other teeth. The diagram below shows their general position within the mouth. A common mistake is to confuse them with the
canines, however, the wolf teeth sit much further back, and unlike the canines cannot be seen by just having a quick peak in the side of the mouth.
Diagram showing side view of Horse's head
The question as to whether wolf teeth should be extracted or not depends on each individual horse. A companion horse that is never or hardly ridden will not be effected by the presence of wolf teeth. However, a horse ridden in a bit and bridle may experience discomfort and pain. The action of the bit may push the horse's fleshy cheeks against their sharp wolf teeth, irritating the horse. The horse may also feel slightly one-sided if he only has one wolf tooth present, and therefore feel uneven in the mouth. A final point is that if wolf teeth are present, it is very difficult and ineffective to install bit seats or round the front cheek teeth.
Here we can see a wolf tooth sitting in the upper jaw on the near side of the
horse's mouth. You can see how the wolf tooth sits in the same area as the bit, and
prevents access to the first cheek tooth.
With the wolf tooth extracted and out of the way, it is possible to round the
first
cheek tooth giving it a smooth edged finish. If the bit where now to apply
pressure in this area, the cheek would not be pushed against any sharp or
uncomfortable edges.
In my professional opinion, if wolf teeth are present and the horse is showing signs of discomfort whilst riding, it is wise to have them extracted. This usually resolves the problem, however,
if the problem does persist the owner is safe in the knowledge that it is not due to any pain or discomfort in the mouth. Extracting wolf teeth does not involve a major operation, but does require
a vet to sedate the horse. This allows the vet or equine dental technician to elevate, loosen and extract the tooth. It is then advisable not to bridle the horse for about 10 days to allow the small
holes to heal.
Although we have discussed wolf teeth mainly in isolation, it is important to always consider the entire horse when making a decision. Rather than looking at just one aspect of the horse,
we should consider their overall condition, behaviour and performance, and of course the general state of the rest of the mouth.