Page 102 - October 2015

Mouth pain can make a horse perform poorly during training
can be removed rather easily, while others require more work to extract,” she says.
Spaces between the teeth, especially if they are loose, may become a problem if feed gets packed in there. “This can lead to periodontal disease. If this happens in the upper cheek teeth, sometimes the infection may move upward to the root and create
a sinus infection in older horses. There may be a number of different reasons leading to loose teeth, but periodontal disease can be a factor,” says True.
Some of the infections that might occur, including sinusitis, are more commonly seen in older horses that have Cushings since their immune system is compro- mised. These horses need frequent and proper dental care to try to prevent or treat potential teeth infec- tions. “Sinus infections in general are not very easy
to clear, and if the horse is immune compromised, it makes this even more difficult,” she explains.
There are several good reasons to check the teeth often in an older horse. True usually recommends checking them every 6 to 12 months, depending on the individual, to make sure problems can be identi- fied early before they become more serious. “If the horse is packing feed between the teeth, there may be some things we can do to resolve this. I may also have the owner flush the mouth periodically and pay close attention to how the horse is chewing so that
if anything changes, they can call me out before the n n e e x x t t s s c c h h e e d d u u l l e e d d e e x x a a m m , ,” ” s s h h e e s s a a y y s s . .
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r r o o w w s s , , t t h h e e o o p p p p o o s s i i n n g g t t e e e e t t h h o o n n t t h h e e b b o o t t t t o o m m w w o o n n ’ ’t t m m a a t t c c h h up perfectly for even wear and there may be portions
DENTAL CARE
FOR HORSES
by Heather Smith Thomas
Most horses need dental care periodically. Domestic horses are usually kept in artificial conditions, eating grain and hay rather
than grazing continually at pasture, and may not wear their teeth normally. Dental care is part of
good horse management, and older horses often need more frequent check-ups and attention than younger horses—though young growing horses have their own set of problems.
OLDER HORSES
Claudia True, DVM of the Woodside Equine Clinic in Ashland, Virginia, and past president of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, says that one of the biggest problems with older horses is loss of teeth. “The horse’s teeth are continually erupting from the jaw and eventually come to the end of the root, and there is nothing left to grind with. This is a good problem, in a way, because it means our horses are living a lot longer than they were in the past. When the horse runs out of teeth, we have to deal with this situation. But, luckily the feed companies have now come out with products that work well for these older horses with no teeth,” she says.
“Sometimes, however, the horse may become uncomfortable before that point because he may have a loose tooth. Some of these teeth are very loose and
100 SPEEDHORSE, October 2015
EQUINE HEALTH