ETHR, the tooth fairy, and grazing ability

[ThreeFurs]

My beloved retired 27 y o wb gelding was diagnosed with EOTH (Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis) - a painful disease where the roots of multiple teeth begin to resorb (dissolve), and the body tries to stabilize these teeth by laying down extra cementum. This results in hypercementosis, or bulbous swellings around the roots of affected teeth. These teeth become infected, abscess, and may loosen or even fracture.

Last week he had nine incisors [all his fronts] and one canine removed by the vet, who kindly saved them for me (poor Clas is going to get a 20c piece for each one under his pillow). Vet came yesterday for a follow up and cleared out cavities and removed stitches. She said she was very pleased with how he was healing.

He is loving his mushy high fibre low GI large bucket feed nightly, but is still not allowed hay until the cavities have healed. He's on pasture with a similarly aged bestie, 24/7. My question is my y o has noticed he's not grazing as much as his pal. The orthodoxy is they learn how to use their lips and tongue to pull grass, and he has all his cheek teeth to chew. Does this mean he was always have to be on long-ish grass? Has anyone else been through this or similar?

I'm weight tape measuring him, and he doesn't appear to be losing weight, its obvious to me now that the weight loss - going into the Australian winter back in June, was due to EOTHR and he has gained back what he lost.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Bless him.

Whilst I can’t offer advice about what grazing to suit him, I do know that horses can do very well after having all or most of their incisors extracted. The vet dentist who removed my mare’s two infected incisors 402/403 (due to periapical abscess/infection, not EORTH) had come on from extracting 11 incisors from a horse with EORTH, and that horse healed up super quickly, needed fewer post extraction check ups than mine, and is doing really well.

Dental pain really drags a horse down, and once the affected teeth are extracted they really bounce back.

Good luck.

 

[Accidental Eventer]

My horse is about to have the rest of his top incisors out and I imagine will eventually lose all his bottom incisors too as he has EORTH. My dental vet says they adapt very well without front teeth and hasn't mentioned anything about the length of grass. It hadn't occurred to me at all, but I generally dont let grass get super short and supplement with hay year round anyway (Western Australia, we only have good grass growing conditions a few months of the year!).

Interesting yours isnt allowed hay until he is healed, mine went straight back to normal feed after surgery (not in nets though, just on the ground) and I washed out his mouth daily until he healed.

 

[ThreeFurs]

My horse is about to have the rest of his top incisors out and I imagine will eventually lose all his bottom incisors too as he has EORTH. My dental vet says they adapt very well without front teeth and hasn't mentioned anything about the length of grass. It hadn't occurred to me at all, but I generally dont let grass get super short and supplement with hay year round anyway (Western Australia, we only have good grass growing conditions a few months of the year!).

Interesting yours isnt allowed hay until he is healed, mine went straight back to normal feed after surgery (not in nets though, just on the ground) and I washed out his mouth daily until he healed.

Thanks Accidental. I'm washing Classic's mouth out too, just hosing with water. Day 8 post surgery. There was somewhat of a smell for the first five days after surgery, but after vet's visit yesterday its fine. Its almost as if his lips are sore from new way of eating, or he can't be arsed.

I took him for a handwalk tonight along our grassy raceways at our agistment, [Meadows, SA] but he's such a nosey git he was looking about, meeting other horses, not really focused on eating. I thought he would tear into the 'easier' taller grass along the sides of the paddocks. But he didn't. He obviously is steadily grazing, otherwise at day 8 he would have major weight/hind gut/colic issues, but he seems quite happy. I don't know. Maybe he's just pain free and feeling more alert. This disease is a new one on me, as is having a gummy oldie. x

 

[Hobo2]

My little dartmoor has had 5 fronts and one canine out . His have been taken out one or two at a time so he has ajusted quite well. Where he has been on bare pasture for the last 10 years he is now on a full field of grass which has some nice length to it that has stabilised his weight so yes I would make sure yours has length of grass if you can. Do you have speedi beet in your country ? That is a great weight stabiliser and is great for the toothless oldie.

I hope the tooth fairy does leave his present though I do think 20c is a bit tight .

 

[ThreeFurs]

My horse is about to have the rest of his top incisors out and I imagine will eventually lose all his bottom incisors too as he has EORTH. My dental vet says they adapt very well without front teeth and hasn't mentioned anything about the length of grass. It hadn't occurred to me at all, but I generally dont let grass get super short and supplement with hay year round anyway (Western Australia, we only have good grass growing conditions a few months of the year!).

Interesting yours isnt allowed hay until he is healed, mine went straight back to normal feed after surgery (not in nets though, just on the ground) and I washed out his mouth daily until he healed.

Thanks Accidental. I'm washing Classic's mouth out too, just hosing with water. Day 8 post surgery. There was somewhat of a smell for the first five days after surgery, but after vet's visit yesterday its fine. Its almost as if his lips are sore from new way of eating, or he can't be arsed.

I took him for a handwalk tonight along our grassy raceways at our agistment, [Meadows, SA] but he's such a nosey git he was looking about, meeting other horses, not really focused on eating. I thought he would tear into the 'easier' taller grass along the sides of the paddocks. But he didn't. He obviously is steadily grazing, otherwise at day 8 he would have major weight/hind gut/colic issues, but he seems quite happy. I don't know. Maybe he's just pain free and feeling more alert. This disease is a new one on me, as is having a gummy oldie. x

My little dartmoor has had 5 fronts and one canine out . His have been taken out one or two at a time so he has ajusted quite well. Where he has been on bare pasture for the last 10 years he is now on a full field of grass which has some nice length to it that has stabilised his weight so yes I would make sure yours has length of grass if you can. Do you have speedi beet in your country ? That is a great weight stabiliser and is great for the toothless oldie.

I hope the tooth fairy does leave his present though I do think 20c is a bit tight .

Yes we do have Speedi Beet, its incredibly popular, and a key feed, and Classic is on it; + an older horse pellet, [lots], crushed lupins, and lucerne chaff, as well as a min/vit supp [Kohnke's Cell Vital] - and my y o is adding lots of extra water, so its very edible.

ATm Clas and his equally old 4*** showjumper pal Will, are being rotated through her never eaten, fully grassed paddocks. Which has done them the world of good, although I do worry about snakes, as its a quieter area of the property. A livery got bitten by a brown snake just near his paddock last week, but it was a dry bite.

But its good to know they do need grass with some length to it. x

ps: I know, 20 cents is like 10 p. But I'm facing a nosebleed level vet bill, so he will just have to hang on til Christmas for proper presents!

 

[Hobo2]

OH my having to think about snakes in your grazing . Oh dear to vets bill I am sure he will not notice that 20 cents per tooth is not much. I think my little pony thinks he has died and gone to heaven with the grass he is allowed now but as he is mainly sucking the goodness out of stuff he is keep a nice weight.