Gappy teeth

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CazD

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My horses have had their teeth check today, with a different vet to usual. The horses are aged 30, 21 and 13. The vet has said all three have gaps in their teeth (did give it a proper name) which means that food gets stuck between the teeth. She said it was unusual for a13 year old but common in the two older ones. She has recommended some changes to their diet, specifically to exclude hay or haylage and chaff. What could I feed instead of their usual hay? I'm thinking specifically of when they are stabled overnight or kept off the field when its waterlogged, in which case they can be off the grass for up to a week. The two older ones also suffer with cushings disease and the 30 year old doesn't have a lot of teeth.
 
CazD said:
My horses have had their teeth check today, with a different vet to usual. The horses are aged 30, 21 and 13. The vet has said all three have gaps in their teeth (did give it a proper name) which means that food gets stuck between the teeth. She said it was unusual for a13 year old but common in the two older ones. She has recommended some changes to their diet, specifically to exclude hay or haylage and chaff. What could I feed instead of their usual hay? I'm thinking specifically of when they are stabled overnight or kept off the field when its waterlogged, in which case they can be off the grass for up to a week. The two older ones also suffer with cushings disease and the 30 year old doesn't have a lot of teeth.
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I think I would have asked the vet what she would feed instead!

When we had a horse with a similar problem our vet & dentist advised washing the mouth out with a syringeful of Corsodyl.
 
Most vets understand that you don;t always have a chance to think of all the relevant questions during a visit if you hear something unexpected (as I assume this was). I'd give the practice a bell tomorrow and ask vet to let you know what they recommend for forage. And what the 'proper word' is too.

Would probably double-check with a feed company or two what they recommend for the 'proper word' as well.
 
The proper word is diastema or diastemata for more then one. My vet recommended boswellia for the soft tissue inflammation ( sore gums) which can be very painful apparently, my old girl eats hay quite well but I believe grass is ideal.
 
OLDGREYMARE said:
The proper word is diastema or diastemata for more then one. My vet recommended boswellia for the soft tissue inflammation ( sore gums) which can be very painful apparently, my old girl eats hay quite well but I believe grass is ideal.
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Yes, that's it, diastema!! The vet did recommend a mostly grass diet but I'm just not sure what to feed as an alternative to grass when they are stabled or if they are off the field when the weather is bad.
 
soaked haycobs?

Fast fibre is advertised as suitable for a hay replacer but I would only use it as a partial one because of the selenium level.
 
CazD said:
My horses have had their teeth check today, with a different vet to usual. The horses are aged 30, 21 and 13. The vet has said all three have gaps in their teeth (did give it a proper name) which means that food gets stuck between the teeth. She said it was unusual for a13 year old but common in the two older ones. She has recommended some changes to their diet, specifically to exclude hay or haylage and chaff. What could I feed instead of their usual hay? I'm thinking specifically of when they are stabled overnight or kept off the field when its waterlogged, in which case they can be off the grass for up to a week. The two older ones also suffer with cushings disease and the 30 year old doesn't have a lot of teeth.
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My horse has had diastema since she was 19 months old. Shes now 7.5yrs old. She has quid most of her life. Are your horses quidding? If they dont quid then theres no reason not to feed hay. Washing their mouth out daily helps. If they quid its probably more serious, in which case you really need a vet or edt who is experienced with diastema. There are some treatment options other than just leaving them to get on with it. My horse has suffered for years because I used a vet who I "thought" knew what he was doing. Ive changed vets twice since and now have a very good vet who has stopped my horse Silverfire from quidding, something even the very best couldnt totally manage.
 
None of them quid really. The vet seemed most concerned that anything like hay or chaff would stick between the teeth or poke into the gums and cause infection. She recommended a mostly grass diet but obviously that's not practical in winter or when stabled.
 
I can't quite understand the significance of quidding? I'd have thought it was just whether it packs or not and that wouldn't be related to quidding?
 
Plenty of horses have diastemas. My 11yo mare has a missing molar near the back, she eats normal food including hay. I do get her teeth floated twice yearly though, to keep on top of any overgrowth. She did quid when I first got her last year due to cumulative poor dentistry giving her a wave mouth, but she is back on track with my own EDT.
 
ester said:
I can't quite understand the significance of quidding? I'd have thought it was just whether it packs or not and that wouldn't be related to quidding?
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If food packs into the gums it causes pockets which will cause quidding. I was told by my horses original vet that she quid because of diastema (he never said she had deep pockets just diastema). When she couldnt chew hay for several weeks as a 2yr old I was told it was due to diastema and to feed her soft feed, even when gaps were widened. In 2016 I changed vet to a baedt vet who has spent last eighteen months telling me she quid due to diastema. Changed vets again and new vet has packed pockets with putty, she has several deep pockets and its taken two months of vet flushing mouth and repacking putty every other week to stop her quidding. There are many posts on this forum with people claiming their horses quid due to diastema. I had an old mare with wide spaces between her teeth and she didnt quid. She was 30 and found hay easier than haylage to eat.
 
Sorry that still isn't making sense to me.

Your initial post seemed to be suggesting that if the horse wasn't quidding then the diastema were not packing and were not a problem. Is that what you are saying or not?
 
Silverfire said:
My horse has had diastema since she was 19 months old. Shes now 7.5yrs old. She has quid most of her life. Are your horses quidding? If they dont quid then theres no reason not to feed hay. Washing their mouth out daily helps. If they quid its probably more serious, in which case you really need a vet or edt who is experienced with diastema. There are some treatment options other than just leaving them to get on with it. My horse has suffered for years because I used a vet who I "thought" knew what he was doing. Ive changed vets twice since and now have a very good vet who has stopped my horse Silverfire from quidding, something even the very best couldnt totally manage.
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My initial post said there is no reason not to feed hay if they are not quidding - I said if they are quidding its likely to be more serious, either way the horses are in need of regular attention from someone who knows how to deal properly with diastema. I was told my horse Silverfire quid because she had diastema - as in I was told it was normal to quid because of diastema and thats why she did it all her life.
 
But the reason not to feed hay is the higher risk of that collecting in diastema compared to grass? So rather than waiting for it to fill and them start quidding why not be more proactive and help avoid it getting to that point?
 
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