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Sileby Hall, Cossington Road, Sileby, Leics. LE12 7RS Telephone 01509 812445 Fax. 01509 816145 |
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HORSE'S TEETH |
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Horses' teeth grow continuously during most of their lives and are designed to chew fibrous feed for long periods during the day. When we stable them, reduce their access to grass and give them cereal-based feeds, their chewing activity is changed and it makes it more likely for them to develop sharp edges to their teeth. These sharp edges can make it difficult for horses to eat and make it uncomfortable when we put a bit in their mouths. They can therefore be difficult to ride. It is important to regularly have your horse's teeth checked by a veterinary surgeon or a competent "equine dentist". This latter term should not really be used now and terms such as tooth rasper or equine dental technician may become more common place. The dental checks should take place every 6-12 months (depending on your horse's mouth anatomy) from birth because problems can also occur when the milk teeth are developing or are being replaced by permanent teeth. There are lots of people who rasp teeth. Some are totally untrained, have inadequate equipment and do very poor work. Others are highly trained, are well equipped and perform high quality work. The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) has developed a training programme, an examination and a qualification as an Equine Dental Technician. These are designed to help competent tooth raspers and to allow horse owners to recognise who are recommended by and work with members of BEVA. These Equine Dental Technicians will be able to perform certain tasks, such as removal of wolf teeth, which at present should only be performed by veterinary surgeons. It is likely that it will take several years for the competent tooth raspers to pass through the examination system and allow them to do anything more than routine rasping and loose cap (milk teeth) removal. A competent tooth rasper will always use a Hausman gag (a metal ratchet system which keeps the mouth open and is placed between the front teeth) and will be willing to show you exactly what he is doing. He may even give you a dental record card. If you are uncertain about the work of your tooth rasper, the equine veterinary surgeons at Chine House will be happy to assess and rasp your horse's teeth. Your annual vaccination date is an excellent time for your dental check up. If we rasp your horse's teeth at this time it will be approximately the same cost as having a tooth rasper perform the task. An added advantage of your veterinary surgeon performing your horses' dental work is that we are the only ones who can sedate your horse. It is increasingly being recognised that a reasonable proportion of horses will need to be sedated for an adequate level of work to be performed. We can also provide a full surgical dental service if necessary and assess other conditions affecting your horse due to tooth related problems. Veterinary surgeons at Chine House who are particularly interested in advanced dental work are Simon Turner, Tom Leaman, John Dickerson and Lucile Creis. |
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