Performance Dentistry in the horse

The back teeth are the main culprits

A well-balanced mouth will give you a well-balanced horse and the performance to match!

Equine dentistry is a very important but until recently a rather neglected area of veterinary medicine, with a significant percentage of horses suffering from undiagnosed and often painful disorders. Many of these horses fail to show clinical signs and suffer pain in silence. These horses are likely to under achieve in their work, and dental pain could affect their very nature, indeed some of these horses will have been written off in the past as having a bad nature.

In the past the only treatment was to rasp (float) the teeth, examining as best as possible both visually and manually in the unsedated horse. This is still appropriate in a well behaved horse that only has sharp enamel points on the buccal (outside) edge of the upper teeth, next to the cheeks and sharp enamel points on the lingual (inside) edge of the lower teeth, next to the tongue. At Parkside Equine we use a modern Hauseman Gag to hold the horse’s mouth open and very sharp rasp blades allowing us to quickly, efficiently and safely rasp horses teeth by our team of equine veterinary surgeons who have all been fully trained in equine dentistry.

However, examining the mouth of an unsedated horse is not always easy in what is often a moving target and is likely to miss some of the painful conditions. Once identified, these conditions commonly cannot be effectively treated with the hand instruments traditionally used. Over the last few years, huge advances have been made in the recognition of these conditions, and specialist instruments have been designed to help diagnose and treat them. To make a detailed examination of the horse’s mouth, the horse should ideally be restrained in stocks, such as the ones we have at our surgery. Once in the stocks, a short acting sedative is given allowing us to wash out the mouth apply the Hauseman Gag and fully examine the mouth both manually and visually with the aid of a dental mirror. At Parkside Equine we have specialist equine dental power equipment with which we can treat all the dental problems we find in horses mouths.

Stocks and stables at Kings Cross Road

The equipment to carry out this dentistry is expensive and needs to be used by veterinary surgeons trained in advanced dental care and treatments, but has revolutionised the treatment of dental disorders in the horse. At Parkside Equine we have a special interest in equine dentistry and extensive training and experience in using this equipment with the whole team of equine veterinary surgeons constantly improving our knowledge with continuous professional development (CPD / training).

Regular dental care is not just for the horses with problems in their mouths. Regular examinations and recording the veterinary surgeons findings are the best way to ensure your horse has the maximum comfort in its mouth at all times. This ensures your horse is kept pain free, which in turn optimises their performance both when ridden and chewing their food. At Parkside Equine we strongly recommend that all horses have at least an annual dental check, this is often done when we administer their vaccinations. Our treatment and how often further check ups should be done is dependant on our findings, we always advise what is in the best interests of your horse on an individually tailored basis rather than blanket cover-all advice, which may not be correct for your horse.