EDT Nervy 4 Yr Old - Help Before Vet Comes Please

Vixxy

Vixxy

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I have a vet coming this morning to look at my new boys teeth (4 yr old Irish Draught). Mr Darcy has only been with me a week and the bond is there but he is still very nervous. He was bought from a dealer who brought him over from Ireland. He is slightly head shy and getting on the bridle is manageable but not routine in anyway.

Teeth will be done, vaccines and a general look over. Mr Darcy is weary of his head a little, the vet does not like to sedate horses having teeth done. My last equine dentist always sedated before doing anything with teeth. Which is best in your opinion for my boy? I worry to make him cautious in future and make his caution and nerves worse with people/things (my old horse at 9 years was awful with the vet for anything at all). Also breaking any trust with me he has built up by over facing him.

Would you insist on sedation or take the argument with the young horse you have done well in a week building trust with? Or do you think he just needs to get used to it and get on with it?
 
Jazzaria said:
WHy don't you give him a NAF Magic instant calmer before he comes :) xxxxxx
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I have them here for the shop (I own a tack shop), so I could try that :)

Perhaps owning a complete monster previously for so many years I am expecting the very worst out come with Mr Darcy - Him to be a rearing, cow kicking, sweating, blowing wreck. I must add I am uber calm around him with a firm but fair attitude and he does calm down very quickly with reassurance and it is this frightened but trusting nature I just don't want to spoil.
 
Completely understand your concerns, you certainly don't want to lose any trust you have gained this week. You could explain this to your vet and say that you want your horse sedated, makes his job easier too.
Good luck with the horse, it sounds like he's been through a lot recently but I'm sure you will continue to make good progress.
 
I would absolutely want the horse sedated if he needs much work done and he's going to be anxious - for everyone's safety. It is likely he will need work done and at his age, a good examination of his mouth.

Maybe try and see how he is and how much needs doing, but if vet is there anyway then you may need to demand he is sedated so you can get everthing done at one time.
 
siennamum said:
I would absolutely want the horse sedated if he needs much work done and he's going to be anxious - for everyone's safety. It is likely he will need work done and at his age, a good examination of his mouth.

Maybe try and see how he is and how much needs doing, but if vet is there anyway then you may need to demand he is sedated so you can get everthing done at one time.
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We seem to be thinking the same way and is my first thought is 'Why take on the fight with a young horse that has not seen or done much?' In a very short space of time has been travelled on a lorry from Ireland to UK been very quickly backed then put on John Parker's lorry to come all the way across Europe to meet me in Sweden then have a four hour trailer ride (first time in trailer and alone also!) to our farm. Poor chap has been pushed to his limits.
 
sorry but i would tell the vet to sedate him, at the end of the day its your horse and you have to deal with the pieces if he frightens the life out of him. also if you feel at anytime your horse is getting distressed tell him to stop, there is no point make your life hard and the horse more upset for the sake of a few minutes.
 
My local EDT also would rather not work on a sedated horse. Why? Not really sure, so I booked mine into a clinic run at a vets where they did sedate her & everything ran smoothly. It was better all round for all of us!

I don't think the calmer would make much difference TBH as have tried them before for other things & found them pretty much useless.

Maybe you could wait 6 months for your horse to settle in before getting his teeth done unless you think he needs seeing straight away. He has had a lot to deal with in a short time.
 
legaldancer said:
My local EDT also would rather not work on a sedated horse. Why? Not really sure, so I booked mine into a clinic run at a vets where they did sedate her & everything ran smoothly. It was better all round for all of us!

I don't think the calmer would make much difference TBH as have tried them before for other things & found them pretty much useless.

Maybe you could wait 6 months for your horse to settle in before getting his teeth done unless you think he needs seeing straight away. He has had a lot to deal with in a short time.
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I think he will need his teeth done now before I reback him properly. He came from a 'churn them out' yard in Ireland and I have been told he needs his teeth done by the British dealer. I Have put a bridle on him to see his reaction, he was very reluctant and then when on very mouthy. I really think he has been rushed which is why I am completely taking him back to basics and rebacking him, starting from lunging and long reining (I have lunged him twice and he is very unbalanced bless him) before getting on him.

I will call the vet if he won't sedate I will take him on the trailer with his field companion to a clinic that will, better to go with my gut feeling (you have all confirmed was right). I am not scared to deal with a hand full horse (Ollie below) was a major handful and a gifted rearer, very difficult horse with most things. This chap is a loving baby that does try hard even when scared, I just don't want to do anything that will spoil him/give him trauma so early on.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated :)
 
LadyRascasse said:
sorry but i would tell the vet to sedate him, at the end of the day its your horse and you have to deal with the pieces if he frightens the life out of him. also if you feel at anytime your horse is getting distressed tell him to stop, there is no point make your life hard and the horse more upset for the sake of a few minutes.
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Agree with this, hope it goes ok with Mr D.
 
Spoke with the vet and explained the situation to him, he said he will have sedative with him, if the horse is overly anxious he will sedate :)

Thank goodness! I will update later when he has been out and let you all know how it went. Once again HHO is a god send, thank you all x
 
I'm in a similar situation...5 year old nervy arab who hasn't had a great deal done to him. I've owned him almost 3 weeks and he's much better, we are bonding...but I'm certain he needs his teeth doing. I have the vet coming out to do his second tet/flu booster in a few weeks and I'm thinking it would be a good idea to get her to sedate him and organise for the dentist to come at the same time......same as you, I'm pretty much re-starting him, we are forming a bond and he's improving so I don't want a setback.....

....oohh worries worries worries.....;):D
 
I actually prefer to sedate horses to rasp their teeth- and so do many vets and certainly all the vets I know who are also qualified EDTs. It is safer for all concerned, not just the vet who is up to their elbow in your horse's mouth but for all handlers (one of my lecturers said to us "when you put a Hausmann gag on a horse, you have effectively created a rhinoceros") and you can generally do a better job because the horse is less likely to object to the feeling of the rasp at the very back of the mouth.

There are some horses I don't sedate- either because we want to avoid sedation for medical reasons, or because they genuinely do just stand there as if they have been sedated! I encounter some resistance to sedation from some owners, who don't want the extra fee, of course. Many practices (usually those where one of the vets is dual qualified as an EDT) include the price of standard sedation in the cost of the rasp, so it makes no difference if you have it or not.

Sedating your horse will not cause him upset, unless for some reason he has become needle-shy, but even then it's not generally a problem.
 
Ooh, off topic, but did you buy a different horse to the one you posted about? I had it in my head you bought a big warmblood, not an Irish horse...?? :confused:
 
We bought a four year old green horse that had just come over from Ireland, and I expected it to be difficult for its teeth, especially as it needed a wolf tooth removing, but he was a total angel.. I'd like to think that the vet would know when a horse was stressed and needed sedating - without an owner telling him - otherwise I would change vets! The flip side of this story is that at the age of six he turned into a stroppy 17h teenager, who put me in hospital because he didn't want his teeth doing (after two years of perfectness!) and so now he is sedated!

Sedation does make me wary though. I had an instructor at college years ago when I was doing my AI, who stuttered due to her jaw being broken in several places from a sedated horse that came round without warning and freaked out... thats why some people don't like to sedate.
 
Puppy said:
Ooh, off topic, but did you buy a different horse to the one you posted about? I had it in my head you bought a big warmblood, not an Irish horse...?? :confused:
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Puppy it is a really long story, not sure how much I can post here. Lets just say I transferred the deposit that was all fine but then sellers quibbled receiving the balance over 2 months after I transferred it. Obviously as nice as the horse was I pulled out of the whole thing on my banks advice and have recovered the money thank goodness!

Whilst waiting for the money to be returned to me I just wanted to buy a horse to get me back in the saddle as the whole ordeal has taken months. Being horseless on a horse farm has to be the most depressing thing in the world (the kids pony just isn't the same no matter how sweet she is), especially missing out on a whole Spring/Summer of riding as I sold Ollie in Feb/March :( I thought to bring the new lad on then sell him later once I had found the right horse next Spring BUT he is really growing on me. I have never fallen for a seller before...he is really growing on me :)

I have never had a problem with any of mine being sedated before, I was expecting it to be done this time also. He is the ONLY equine vet for 2 hours around us so not much choice (this is Norway guys*insert roll eyes*). His daughter (my new friend since the big farm move) told me over coffee last night he rarely sedates as he does not like to if unnecessary. I had images of him trying to push the horse totally out of his comfort zone to end up having to sedate anyway and the damage already being done so to speak.
 
UPDATE - As promised :)

Vet came and was the best equine vet I have ever used! Fantastic with the horses and explained everything beautifully to me, showing me where to feel for the long teeth and sharpness and broken wolf teeth on the new man. He was superb! He said he could come back when he set the 2nd jabs to remove the broken wolf teeth but he felt that Mr Darcy would be fine today. I chose to listen and do it then so I can use a bridle without worrying and as he said Mr Darcy was very well behaved, just a few shuffles and side steps.

Both the pony and the big boy had everything done with no sedatives, including power tools and also Mr Darcy had two wolf teeth taken out that were broken on each side for this we did twitch his nose. The horses were very quiet, he was very kind and patient with them both and gave them a good cuddle when he was finished :)

Mr Darcy was actually better behaved than the pony. I must give the vet the credit though, he whistled and sang to them throughout...They were super calm for him!

He told me I had a great buy with Mr Darcy, which was lovely to hear.
 
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