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10 Reasons Horse Owners Avoid the Equine Dentist

May 12, 2010 By 10 Comments
Equine Dentistry
Image by pmarkham via Flickr

Thanks to Dr. Geoff Tucker for posting a good piece on equine dentistry and trying to relieve some fears about it – EQUINE DENTISTRY – 10 REASONS WHY HORSE OWNERS AVOID IT

I think my favorite is that some owners don’t know there are teeth back there. You would think how ignorant but it is true I have had clients look in the back of their horse’s mouth when I had the speculum on and be very surprised how far back their teeth go.

Another one I like and have experience with is that some owners don’t like the dentist themselves. I have a couple very good clients that are religious about having their horses teeth examined twice a year but can not watch at all when I work on the teeth. Now I use a dremel at times (sorry Dr. Geoff) and that just makes them leave the barn completely just from the noise and the thought of what the dremel is contacting.

Having your horses teeth examined at least twice a year sometimes more often for horses under 5 years of age is necessary to keep them in good health. It also helps with bit comfort and headset.

The next time your horse gives you trouble while riding and tosses his head a little, chomps at the bit or even sets its ears back when you make contact with the bit – you need to have your dentist out to check the teeth and even better just have them checked regularly so you do not experience those issues.

BTW – the pic associated with this goes exactly with the #6 reason why owners avoid the equine dentist. (hung over literally)

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  • http://twitoaster.com/danielbeattydvm/ danielbeattydvm

    10 Reasons Horse Owners Avoid the Equine Dentist – http://horsekinetics.com/10-reasons-hors...

  • http://twitoaster.com/danielbeattydvm/ danielbeattydvm

    10 Reasons Horse Owners Avoid the Equine Dentist – http://horsekinetics.com/10-reasons-hors...

  • http://twitoaster.com/danielbeattydvm/ danielbeattydvm

    @equinepractice no problem even blogged about it – 10 Reasons Horse Owners Avoid the Equine Dentist – http://horsekinetics.com/10-reasons-hors...

  • http://twitoaster.com/danielbeattydvm/ danielbeattydvm

    @equinepractice no problem even blogged about it – 10 Reasons Horse Owners Avoid the Equine Dentist – http://horsekinetics.com/10-reasons-hors...

  • EquinePractice

    @danielbeattydvm Thanks a bunch!

  • EquinePractice

    @danielbeattydvm Thanks a bunch!

  • Caren

    Dr. Dan, How do I know if my vet is doing a good job? He often tells me that some or all of them don’t need floating when I have them checked in the spring. My ponies eat well and the one I ride has no problem with his bit. I am getting ready to start my four year old this year. Do I need an equine dentist to look at my horses?

  • Caren

    BTW, I absolutely trust him for all my vet work. He’s conscientious, keeps up-to-date, and a good horseman. But I am unsure about the teeth thing.

  • http://evetclinic.com Daniel Beatty

    Caren -
    The first thing is – does your vet use a mouth speculum to work on your horses’ teeth? If no then definitely have an equine dentist out to take a look and see if your vet is doing a thorough job.

    If he does use a speculum that’s good but it still may not be a great job so there are two ways to approach this – first feel him out and see if he likes to do teeth, many vets do not, I am afraid, and even if they are competent but they do not like to work on teeth then sometimes the proper job is not going to be done. If he likes doing teeth or goes into a great deal of explanation about teeth telling you he has gone to continuing education or seminars or something then he is probably doing a fine job for you.

    The second is to have an equine dentist come out and take a look. A good one will point out to you things they see that might be missed by your vet. Hopefully nothing big is missed and you can go back confidently and use your vet again for all the teeth.

  • http://www.minnesotageek.net/wordpress/?p=840 Tales of a Minnesota Geek » Blog Archive » links for 2011-07-11

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