ageing a horse via teeth....

L

L&M

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 March 2008
Messages
6,378
Location
up a hill
Visit site
I bought a lovely 14.2hh pony for my son in Feb - his passport states birth yr as 2003, so we bought him in good faith as a 12yr old. When he was vetted the only comment was that he needed dental attention (the previous owners were quite honest and said that they had not had his teeth floated since they had owned him, so not unduly surprised by the vets comments).

Fast forward to today, when he was due his vaccs booster so booked him in for his teeth too. My vet straight away said from his front incisiors that he was significantly older - possibly even late teens.

We love the pony and he has not pout a foot wrong since we have owned him, but firstly would not have paid as much if this was the case, and obviously has re-sale implications once he is outgrown.

So my questions are:

- How accurate are vets on ageing by teeth?

- Have I got any come back on the vets who originally vetted him?

My vet showed me pictures of teeth in her vetinary manual, and his do match the pictures of a horse a lot older. Also his passport was only issued in 2011, so although his dob is filled in as 2003, as he has no fixed breeding and came over from Ireland, she says these discrepancies are not uncommon.

Any similar experiences?

Thanks in advance x
 
Personally, I would be a bit peed off that I'd paid potentially over the odds, but if he's perfect in every other respect I wouldn't be worrying about it. Discrepancies in passports do happen, especially where exact breeding is not known. My two for example were well advanced in years by the time passports were introduced and had already had a couple of owners so their exact details were a mystery to me and all I could do was guess (based on teeth ages and what I'd been told previously).
 
I don't think you can gauge dead on how old a horse is, used to be by Galvaynes groove and tables of teeth, but I think that has been discounted. I think there would be quite a difference between a 12 year old and a late teenager though.
 
My vet had a booklet showing the tables.....and even I could clearly see his front teeth looked more akin to a 17/18yr olds to those of a 12 yr old.

The pony is cracking and everything we could have wanted, so even if I have paid over the odds, that is not an issue, with my vet saying in what good condition he is if he is indeed older than we thought.

However my main concern is what happens when we need to sell him on...., do I go by his passport age?
 
Once they are over 6-7 years old then it becomes harder to accurately age a horse via its teeth. Too many forces can also come in to play regarding the premature wearing of the incisors too such as wind sucking, crib biting, teeth grinding, grazing on very sandy soils etc. Different breeds can also wear at different rates according to my old dentistry book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Equine-Dentistry-Jack-Easley-DABVP/dp/0702029807
For example there is huge variation in tooth wear between a suffolk punch and an arab.
With regards to a comeback I'm not sure! If he looks and moves like a younger horse then I would go by his passport age?
 
Putting a positive spin on it - if he is indeed older than we thought, we may have missed out on a fab pony as would have discounted him because of his age....!

I have decided not to sweat over it, at the end of the day he is fit and healthy, shows no other signs of being 'aged', and perfect for what we want. If/when we do sell him on, I will worry about it then - monies lost is not an issue as his temperament and ability is priceless, but would hate for him to be asked too much of in his next home if indeed older than his passport.
 
My vet said my guarenteed 16yo was 7 going by his teeth....
There is a big thread on another forum similar, not an exact science. Particularly if they haven't been floated in a long while.
 
My horse's teeth were examined by the vet last year and he aged him at rising 13. I'd seen my boy the day he was born, so knew he was 17.5 :-) The vet sighed and said 'Jasper always makes a fool of me'.
 
I had a mare who I'd had for a good few years. She was in her late teens when a new dentist came out to do her teeth. Very good dentist, very experienced dentist but he tried telling me she was in her 30s!! I know for a fact she wasn't as I bought her from my friend who got her as a five year old and was able to track her history quite legitimately without any doubt that she was the age I thought she was.

Anyway, she was full of life despite having a touch of ringbone. Sadly I lost her when she broke her leg in the field.

Really, my point is, even if he is a little older than you thought and you may have paid over the odds if he's happy working well and he's the right pony for you then it doesn't really matter. Just get on with enjoying him! I'm sure he's worth it really.
 
Pretty much anything born pre passport / microchip - unless it is of pedigree breeding - lost a few years when passports came in. Our lovely welsh sec A was passported at 23yrs when he died but was almost certainly somewhat north of 30. Even when you look up his competition record you can see he was competing as a scurry pony when he should have been a foal at foot. Ponies live so long and usually remain rideable for so long it isn't really a problem. Plus with a passport age of 12 you can continue to insure him without a veteran policy! (waste of time IMO - but thats another issue)
 
Accurate ageing by dental examination gets harder the older the horse is. Past the age of ten it's a dark art, frankly. Galvayne's groove never was very reliable.
 
As others have said, precise ageing by teeth is not really possible.

I bought my mare from her breeder as an 8 year old. Vet thought she was a 5 year old going by her teeth ....
 
When I bought my mare (history unknown) I guessed 11 or 12, the vet agreed and the dentist said no more than 12 so I think that was probably pretty well true. I do know of a pony bought by a friend as early teens and then they found out via its freezemark that it was actually late 20's!! Even the dentist was fooled but he suspected the teeth had been bishoped when he looked much closer. They were rather shocked but as the OP says, the pony was just what they wanted. They just didn't expect to be facing retiring her not all that far down the line and then having an elderly pony to care for plus her replacement.
 
We bought a horse recently who's passport says he is 14, the dentist saw him yesterday and swore he could not be over 12. He is from the Netherlands and his passport has virtually no info in it at all so I wouldn't be surprised if the age was wrong.
 
Jules_F said:
We bought a horse recently who's passport says he is 14, the dentist saw him yesterday and swore he could not be over 12. He is from the Netherlands and his passport has virtually no info in it at all so I wouldn't be surprised if the age was wrong.
Click to expand...

Well, I would be very surprised if it was. The Dutch are quite meticulous with their record keeping. If he is registered with a breed society then you can request further information.
 
Cortez said:
Well, I would be very surprised if it was. The Dutch are quite meticulous with their record keeping. If he is registered with a breed society then you can request further information.
Click to expand...

He is not registered with anything, as i said there is very little info in his passport and his sire and dam are both unknown. It also states that he is an Appaloosa which he very clearly is not...
 
Jules_F said:
He is not registered with anything, as i said there is very little info in his passport and his sire and dam are both unknown. It also states that he is an Appaloosa which he very clearly is not...
Click to expand...

Just goes to show how useless passports are, especially when you think how much they cost us all. (Big sigh)
 
If I was clever enough to do so, I would!

I am currently trying to track down his original breeder to clarify his d.o.b - he has good muscle tone, a healthy coat and no grey hairs around his face or pockets above his eyes, and happily in full work showing no signs of discomfort, so am just hoping my vet is wrong.

The issue I have is that I would not have bought a pony in its late teens as am aware he will need to sold on when outgrown - also how do I sell a pony where there is confusion over his age? tIf I sell him on his passport age, but he is indeed significantly older, it is not fair on either the pony or new owner.....a real dilemma.

Anyhow, I will try to put this worry to the back of my mind and let my son enjoy him for the lovely pony he is, regardless of what comes of any detective work.
 
Last edited:
I completely understand why you are disappointed - that is if the pony is older than you think! - however if the pony is this good you will have no trouble when you sell him on :)
 
I don't think aging by the teeth is a reliable art. I was once told by an EDT that my 9 year old mare was a good 5 years older judging by her teeth, yet I knew exactly how old she was as she had an AHS certificate, dated the year of her birth, which correctly showed all her markings and whorls. I also had contact with her breeder, who showed me foal photos, and I know that she was from the first crop of foals by her sire (from mares covered when he was a 3 year old) and she is the absolute spit of him, so I'm fairly confident that the EDT was wrong! So I'm not sure you can take it as gospel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top