Suzanne Redford
Equine Dental Services

How to Tell if Your Horse Has Dental Problems

Below is a definitive guide to the signs to look for to indicate that your horse has dental problems, and details on how they can affect your horse.

If we look at the mechanics of the mouth, we can see that horses in the wild use their teeth to forage, nip and grind their food far more frequently than most domesticated horses, who often eat for shorter periods of time, but on higher energy hard food. This lack of tooth use in our domesticated horse reduces the amount of natural wear the teeth should receive, and therefore leads to many equine dental problems. This coupled with the fact that we put a bit in the horse’s mouth, assists in explaining why it is necessary to have our horses teeth checked and maintained so often.

An uncomfortable horse will usually try to indicate the source of its pain in a variety of ways, the tricky part for us is how to interpret it correctly. The following list can be attributed to dental problems and discomfort, and should act as a rough guide of the signs to look for in your horse:

1) Head throwing, shaking or tilting whilst riding

If the bit is pushing sharp enamel points into the side of the cheeks, the horse will react.

2) Rearing, carrying the head excessively high or backing away rapidly without being asked.

Large hooks or ramps can cause immense pain to the horse with a bit in their mouth.

3) Bad Odours

Bad odours coming from the horse’s mouth or one of its nostrils can indicate a variety of problems, such as retained caps (baby teeth), infection, mouth sores or tooth disease.

4) Long particles of food in their manure

Not the best job to do, but a quick glance at your horse’s manure can show if your horse is efficiently grinding their food.

5) Frustration whilst eating.

Take time to watch your horse eat, any signs of frustration, dunking mouthfuls of hay in the water bucket or dropping large clumps of chewed hay, could indicate a painful mouth.

6) A lack of condition.

This of course can be attributed to many factors, however it is best to ensure it is not because your horse is unable to grind its food efficiently, and therefore get the most nutritionally from it.

It is always important to look at the whole picture when studying your horse’s behaviour, however, equally important is ensuring that no one area, such as the horse’s mouth, is causing them unnecessary pain. Although it is recommended that your horse’s teeth are checked by an Equine Dental Technician every six months, if you notice any of the above problems, it would be wise to call them earlier to ensure your horse is not in pain.

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© Suzanne Redford 2003
www.equinedentalservices.co.uk