did you really not have dentists say 30 years ago?

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darkhorse123

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For your horses???
And no im not having a go - as a first time horse owner im genuinely interested,
i read in another post there werent horse dentists in the past, or at least they werent used as much
Is this because then the horses were fed more natural feeds that kept their teeth in shape?
- what im asking is how come the horses were so good (ie hacking out) as they plainly were , not in pain and yet no annual dental check?
 
I din't know of any specialist dentists that long ago.

We just used to get the vet to check and rasp if necessary when we had annual jabs done.

Dealer types usually had a rasp somewhere on the yard to take of sharp edges etc.

Cant say it was a problem, vets were quite capable.

The old guy on the bottom left is proof it didn't do any harm. I owned him over 30 years ago, he's still going strong with a full set of teeth at 35 years+
 
Farriers used to do horses teeth if they needed attention
My first horse never had his teeth done
When I first asked my vet to do annual checks on horses teeth I got the impression I was in a minority.
 
I don't remember my ponies every having their teeth done 40 years ago, think the first time the vet checked and rasped teeth was in the early 90s when I had an old WHW pony. Its really only been the last 15 years or so I have used a specialised equine dentist.
 
makes you wonder how much of animal "care" now is just a money making spin machine?
I am a novice horse owner - but not dog owner - i know you cant compare but as an example think of dog food
My parents always fed our dogs boiled liver and heart - i have followed allbeit unwillingly (maybe unconciously) my dog would never eat dog food - hes now 11 and fed on liver, heart or sausages - never been to a vet in his life - hasnt needed it.
I just wonder sometimes how much "progress" is really for the good of the animals or for someones profit ?
 
darkhorse123 said:
wow amazing - to think its now a condition of insurance they have their teeth done yearly - ty for your replies x
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Really? never noticed that on mine!
And i don't beleive every horse would need teeth done every year!
I don'tuse an equine dentist, get the vet to check when he is here.
 
Fii said:
Really? never noticed that on mine!
And i don't beleive every horse would need teeth done every year!
I don'tuse an equine dentist, get the vet to check when he is here.
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That's right It really depends if the horse wears its teeth evenly or not! The more natural you keep them the better with rough forage etc.

don't get me started on people and rugs lol XX
 
although i dont use a specialised equine dentist, that is not specified by insurance co - just that he has them done annually - so he has it done annually with his jabs by the vet
 
We forst came across a dentist who became interested in horses teeth over 20 years ago, we had an Appy with a split tooth, syringed corsodyl in daily for years. She didn't see another specialsed dentist for the rest of her life, living to the ripe old age of 35 :) The current horses now have a dentist check them every year :eeK: :D
 
Well, we had someone to do the teeth 30 years ago (and more), but we used to check the teeth ourselves to see if there were any sharp edges, and if so, get the chap in to rasp them. It seem to me that people are too quick these days to blame teeth/saddle if they have a problem with their horse, rather than looking at their riding/management. It always makes me snort when people always add the proviso 'I've done teeth/saddle checks...' when they write about a problem with their horse. It's become a sort of mantra.
 
You are right, no dentist, but the horses generally did not use haynets and the hay was proper stuff, grown slowly, lots of fibre, we fed bruised oats, proper broad bran and chaff, so they had to chew, hunting yards fed four meals per day, there were fewer diseases, none of the modern metabolic types, horses got colic and ponies got laminitis and that was it.
No vet hospitals, operations done at home, no need for infusions and such like, most horses got proper exercise, roads were quiet and it was fine to canter on verges which were well maintained.
I don't recall having a vet out for lameness, just popped an animal lintox on.
A good horseman would not buy horses with problems, and keeping them sound was all part of the normal regime, most hunting people had two or three made hunters so if one was lame it was turned away for the season.
No "vet" insurance, so no outrageous bills.
A good horse was £200, not so good £180[1964], I remember when the prices rose to £300, that seemed quite a lot [1970]
There have been some improvements, after the massive "cough" outbreak in 1970's, a vaccine was developed, and has been very succesful, also horses are more "a working mans" hobby, where as it was either elitist or just horse mad girls like me. There were a few eventers and dressage people, but no BHS approved yards.
I don't think there were so many horses in work when older, and more were retired or on occasional hacking.
I sent a horse to the knackers [he was shot at home], , and got £8.00 for him, plus the shoes returned.
 
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Fii said:
Really? never noticed that on mine!
And i don't beleive every horse would need teeth done every year!
I don'tuse an equine dentist, get the vet to check when he is here.
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Nor on mine.My horse has never needed his teeth done,had them checked by a vet.He did crib on a few trees and wore them down a bit,not needed dentists as yet.
 
Its the back teeth that need checking tbh, they are not noticeable, but get sharp egdes on them, an annual check is a good idea, and the vet can do it, though I get a dental techy to do my youngsters, as they also have caps to remove, and it will be their first time, so need someone strong and experienced.
 
MrsD123 said:
Its the back teeth that need checking tbh, they are not noticeable, but get sharp egdes on them, an annual check is a good idea, and the vet can do it, though I get a dental techy to do my youngsters, as they also have caps to remove, and it will be their first time, so need someone strong and experienced.
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I have equine vets. Next time vet comes I will have them check his back teeth. He eats fast enough lol
 
I can remember querying with my boss about a young pony that seemed to be really hungry but didn't eat well - I suggested he have his teeth looked at and she was ademant he was too young to need them looking at. She finally agreed and the vet looked at his teeth and they were really sharp - rasped the sharp edges off and he ate to make up for lost time.

We didn't seem to be so aware I think then about the need for rasping teeth. Though the experts say that the more a horse eats hard feed the more his teeth are likely to need doing.

Just been through a visit to the vets with my 6 and 4yr old - The four yr old for the first time had two wolf teeth removed and the 8 yr old took ages to do. She had been done two years earlier. Normally have the dentist in but madam was a bit pushy last time and a cross Cydesdale is not to be taken lightly - she is very strong when it suits.
 
I started rding in the 70's first pony in 1980. My pony's teeth were always done by the vet about once a year when vaccs due. But then I didn't expect a high performance out of him as in dressage. In fact I had never heard of dressage at the time.

My WB gelding would probably have been shot years ago but now with regular teeth, physio treatments and supplements he is going strong at 16. People always harp back to the old days but I bet there were a lot of very uncomfortable horses tolerating poor teeth, badly fitting tack and were shipped off to the knackers if a problem couldn't be solved with schooling when all that was needed was it's teeth done.

And despite what people say ponies did get laminitis in fact the first thing I ever learnt about from my horse care manual was about colic and laminitis. There certainly were a few on the yard where I kept my pony that had had it. And no-one really knew what caused it i.e. metabolic syndrome not that it didn't exist - I think then it was thought too much protein caused it rather than sugars.

I'm glad I can get a trained person to do my horses teeth, I'm glad vets have done research into lami and found better ways of managing it and I'm damn glad I don't have to deal with smelly jute rugs with folded rugs underneath that always fall off and stiff as a board New Zealands. (re: other thread)
 
30 yrs ago = 1981.

The animals at home had teeth checked when vet came out for routine jabs.

I 1st had a 'Horse dentist' - Colin Hill - during the mid 1980's at home for a youngster with immense wolf teeth & a few other dental problems. These were removed by said fella & local (then young=ish) vet alongside to administer extra drugs.
No need for trips to surgery in those days....

At the yard I worked in at that time (1980), we had a vet who specialised in dental practice with horses, so he came & gave everything a check over 2 x a yr.
 
I actually did a project based on equine dentistry, and it's funny how the field has altered over the years.

Believe it or not, there was a lot of expertise in the field up to the early 1900's (there are documents about equine dentistry dating back 1000's of years), and there was real enlightenment about it in the 1800's. It's documents from this period that a lot of the prototypes for modern instrumentation came from. However equine dentistry seemed to become unfashionable as working horses were phased out with the industrial revolution. Horses were more of a commodity and less of a necessity, and performance was less important.

It's only been in recent years that equine dentistry has become fashionable again, as we're expecting a lot more of horses in terms of competition and investing a lot more money in them. However we lost a lot of knowledge in the intervening years, hence why it's still a developing field in veterinary medicine. It's definitely a moving on now though, particularly now we have properly qualified EDTs doing a lot of work (which is why it's important to have an EDT or a vet who does CPD and keeps up to date with the latest procedures).
 
alesea said:
I
It's only been in recent years that equine dentistry has become fashionable again, as we're expecting a lot more of horses in terms of competition and investing a lot more money in them. However we lost a lot of knowledge in the intervening years, hence why it's still a developing field in veterinary medicine. It's definitely a moving on now though, particularly now we have properly qualified EDTs doing a lot of work (which is why it's important to have an EDT or a vet who does CPD and keeps up to date with the latest procedures).
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sorry, what is CPD?, I don't think vets are really interested tbh, but they are essential if there is a big tooth job to be done.
 
MrsD123 said:
sorry, what is CPD?, I don't think vets are really interested tbh, but they are essential if there is a big tooth job to be done.
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CPD is "Continuing Personal or Professional Development "! Any GOOD vet will do at LEAST 6 days a year of extra training/refresher type work! My senior vet (who has been my vet for 23 years) generally fits in 12 days a year. It's essential to keep up-to-date with developments.

And MANY vets ARE interested in dental work (not least because of the increased interest in EDT's!!) BEVA organises regular 2 day Advanced Courses for vets wishing to improve their skills!
 
Had vet out over 30 years ago to do horses teeth, but vet was a bit of a speed merchant, so horses got wary of him, must admit a horse could look well, but be in a lot of pain, like my old skewbald, his teeth were so sharp, his gums were really bad, but he'd eat for England. My lot are checked every year by a very good dentist and my old mare by 2 vets every year and worth every penny.:D:D:D:D
 
ok showing my age but no there were no sepcialist dentists 30 yrs ago - if your pony/hosre shwed signed the vet may rasp teeth and that was in top class livery yard where i trained to as well as my own pony - no back specialsts either. by heck how did we cope lol - If you rugged - and not many did - heavy jute rugs with under blankets if needed in stable and for turn out if you needed to was heavy new zealands that needed re proofing all time lol but not many people did - happy simple days :) x
 
sussexbythesea said:
My WB gelding would probably have been shot years ago but now with regular teeth, physio treatments and supplements he is going strong at 16. People always harp back to the old days but I bet there were a lot of very uncomfortable horses tolerating poor teeth, badly fitting tack and were shipped off to the knackers if a problem couldn't be solved with schooling when all that was needed was it's teeth done.

I'm glad I can get a trained person to do my horses teeth, I'm glad vets have done research into lami and found better ways of managing it and I'm damn glad I don't have to deal with smelly jute rugs with folded rugs underneath that always fall off and stiff as a board New Zealands. (re: other thread)
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^^^^This^^^^

I never used an EDT until I had a friend who trained as one but now I would never go without. Yes we used to manage but how many horses were having to put up with low level pain every day of their lives?

When I first got G he hadn't had proper dental care and his mouth was in a real state with a bad ridge at the back affecting his ability to eat properly. I'm very glad things have moved on and we can now make our horses more comfortable.

I'm not someone who follow every fashion. My horse is out 24/7 unrugged atm, has a forage based diet and is generally allowed to be a horse. I don't count dentistry as a luxury though.
 
JanetGeorge said:
CPD is "Continuing Personal or Professional Development "! Any GOOD vet will do at LEAST 6 days a year of extra training/refresher type work! My senior vet (who has been my vet for 23 years) generally fits in 12 days a year. It's essential to keep up-to-date with developments.

And MANY vets ARE interested in dental work (not least because of the increased interest in EDT's!!) BEVA organises regular 2 day Advanced Courses for vets wishing to improve their skills!
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All the vets at the practise I use have done the BEVA courses, which is why I am happy to use them for my mare. I was also happy with the EDT I used previously but unfortunately Madam became so stroppy she required sedation, so I now get the vet to do her.

I can remember when an old vet used to do them at a yard I was at when I first loaned a horse. It was horrific - he just pulled the tounge out the side and stuck the rasp in, never used a gag. They would all be bleeding after. Thankfully he is long retired.
 
And don't forget how God awful human being's teeth were in Britain back in the day. False teeth were common in the 'older' generation. Now, we oldies have gleaming gnashers - and they're all our own! Me and the horses like the progress in dentistry
 
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