Page 69 - December 2015

well. It depends on the horse, and most trainers are good at figuring out what works best for the horse,” says Connally.
InjurIes From TeeTh
“I’ve seen huge ulcers and holes in tongues caused by sharp, misplaced teeth,” says Connally. “One horse was brought to me because he was constantly salivating—drool- ing buckets of fluid when you put a bit in
his mouth. He was a good roping horse and performed well, but was constantly drooling if he had a bit in his mouth. If they took the bit out he was fine. I sedated the horse and took
a look in his mouth. He’d gotten kicked some years earlier, which pushed one of his lower cheek teeth so that it was leaning inward and it was poking under his tongue. He had a hole 2 inches in diameter in the bottom of his tongue on that side,” says Connally.
With a bit in his mouth, holding the tongue down, the horse couldn’t lift his tongue away from the sharp tooth. “That was a hard one to figure out at first because I couldn’t actually see it. But when I stuck my hand in his mouth and felt around, I could feel it. Then, I was able to roll his tongue over enough to see it. But I couldn’t see it just looking into his mouth, even with a speculum to hold his mouth open. We ground that tooth down and he no longer had the irritation and drooling.”
ForeIgn maTerIal In The mouTh
Occasionally, something sharp in the horse’s feed can poke into the tongue or tear it. “We often see foxtail abscesses in tongues, and sometimes stickers and sticks jammed into the tongue. I’ve pulled several pieces of wire out of tongues,” he says.
“I examined a horse that was salivating
and eating funny, and when I got my hand far enough back in the mouth I was able to find and pull out a 2 1/2-inch piece of wire that was stuck into the side of the tongue—almost as far back as the last cheek tooth. When we got
the wire out, the horse did fine.” The horse’s tongue is so agile and horses are so good at sorting foreign material out of their feed (or spitting out strange things) that they rarely have a problem, but sometimes it gets in there before they know it, and something sharp may injure or poke into the tongue.
“I’m often surprised when a horse gets some- thing stuck in the mouth or tongue. Cows eat hurriedly without sorting their feed. They often swallow foreign objects and get hardware disease. But horses generally sort their feed,” he says.
Young horses are curious, however, and tend to nibble and chew on things they shouldn’t eat. If a foal injures the tongue, he has trouble nurs- ing. “If he can’t suck, you might have to train him to drink from a bucket (feeding milk replacer)
so he can dunk his mouth far enough into the liquid to create suction. The tongue is crucial for nursing. I’ve seen newborn calves and foals with swollen tongues after a hard birth and they can’t nurse until the swelling goes down. They must be fed with a tube until they can nurse.”
BITIng oFF The Tongue
Connally knew of a stallion who lost 1/3 of his tongue, but managed fine without it. “That was the first time I’d ever heard of a horse bit- ing off its tongue,” he says.
There have been some unusual cases reported. In one instance many years ago, a mare bit off her tongue during a routine deworming and dental session. The mare’s owner and vet- erinarian were trying to deworm her by stomach tube and float her teeth. It is a common practice when handling a horse’s mouth for examination or dental work to hold the tongue out the side of the mouth to help immobilize the horse’s head and keep the mouth open for easier access to look at or work on the teeth.
The mare’s owner was holding onto her tongue in the usual fashion, but the mare jerked backward and the tongue came off in his hand. She had bitten it completely in two as she clamped her teeth and pulled back.
The veterinarian sutured the tongue back into place, but five days later the tongue came off again; the suture repair was not successful. The severed edge healed, and the mare was left with a two-inch stub in the back of her mouth.
For the first ten days after the accident, this mare was fed through a stomach tube because the owner was afraid she would not be able to eat normally. Then she was put back out on pasture. She had no trouble grazing and lost no weight during recovery.
“The important thing when doing a mouth examination and holding the tongue out the side of the mouth is to hold onto the tongue and the halter together. Even if the horse doesn’t bite his tongue if he tries to pull away, there is danger of pulling on the tongue hard enough to paralyze it,” says Connally.
“If the horse jumps backward and you continue hanging onto the tongue to hold him, you may pull so hard on the tongue that it won’t work properly anymore. When doing any mouth exam, make sure you have one finger hooked in the halter so that either you go with the horse
if he pulls back or are quick enough to release your hold to turn him loose and let him go. But every now and then, someone gets bull-headed
Although horses are good at sorting foreign material out of their feed, sharp things in their feed can poke into or tear the tongue, causing abscesses, etc., especially in curious young horses.
The injury on the tongue of this horse was caused by a bit, some of which are harsher than others and more apt to cause injury under forceful pressure or when jerked.
Tongue ties to keep the tongue out of the mouth and various methods to keep the tongue in the mouth while a horse is running need to be adjusted carefully so they don’t injure the tongue.
Sharp teeth can cause irritations, ulcers and holes in the tongue, making it difficult for the horse to lift his tongue away from the sharp tooth when he has a bit in his mouth and causing a multitude of problems.
SPEEDHORSE, December 2015 67
equine health
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