Horse suddenly refusing bit - help!!

[Ellestan]

Hello - looking for advice/help please as rather frustrating problem.

Horse 12 year old Gelding, owned since Feb, ridden lots (schooled/hacked). Fully up to date with farrier/saddle/etc

Routine dental visit early Aug and fractured front tooth noticed, referral to another dentist for further examination/treatment. Tooth removed end of August - all pretty straight forwards. Given a week of bute and told OK to return him to work the following day (we did give a few days off as felt a bit mean).

All OK, continued riding no issues. Vet came to sedate and flush out cavity after 2 weeks (advice of dentist as a precaution plus getting a yukky smell). All OK, took out some food debris and gave a good flush out, healing well and no issues at all.

Continued to ride horse from following day, (daughter had a fab lesson 4 days later), and then 2 days after this lesson (so 6 days from flush out and almost 3 weeks from extraction) I went to tack up and horse is completely refusing bit. Won't allow you to hold his muzzle, touch mouth or head area. Flicking nose and raising head.

Spoke with vet suggested highly unlikely to be pain from tooth at this point, recommended some bute over weekend and came out to sedate and check cavity yesterday. I tried to bridle him when vet arrived and she said straight away issue was behavioural. She did still sedate and had a look but confirmed no issues at all.

I'm stuck now as to where to go horse isn't head shy, more mouth shy. Will take a halter and bridle no issues, but completely refuses the bit. Raises head and clamps jaw shut. Tried coating the bit/giving it with a treat, lots of things. He will lick the goodies off the bit or from behind, but just will not take it into his mouth.

Anybody else ever had similar? Any suggestions how to please overcome this quickly?
(Daughter typically had a dressage test booked for Sunday, which I've had to cancel )

Thanks in advance!

 

[JackFrost]

It will be a dental issue, though not necessarily the tooth you had an issue with. Get another vet opinion from someone recommended for dental.
When I had a similar thing, horse was saying it was its teeth, and it was.

 

[AmyMay]

It will take a human about a week or so to get over a routine tooth extraction (possibly longer). I’m amazed the horse wasn’t given an appropriate amount of time off after having his tooth out.

My money is on a continued dental issue or bruising.

 

[irishdraft]

It does sound you were advised to start work very quickly after extraction, horses teeth are quite big & deep rooted so I would think it was very sore. It would point to some type of dental issue if you didn't have the problem previously. Was it a dental specialist vet you used or more of a general vet maybe 2nd opinion of a specialist to check again.

 

[Ellestan]

It does sound you were advised to start work very quickly after extraction, horses teeth are quite big & deep rooted so I would think it was very sore. It would point to some type of dental issue if you didn't have the problem previously. Was it a dental specialist vet you used or more of a general vet maybe 2nd opinion of a specialist to check again.

Dental specialist for the extraction, general vet for the flush and the checkup this week.

 

[ycbm]

Given how awful tooth extraction is for a youngish horse I am shocked that your vet didn't tell you to give him several weeks off having anything in his mouth. The teeth are extremely deep rooted because they grow as the horse ages and it takes a lot of force to remove them,. From watching a fractured front tooth removed, I believe that must result in bruising to the bone they are embedded in. The one I saw had bone shards displaced with the tooth and the owner was told that was normal. Vet who removed the tooth was an expert.

If you are lucky he's just fed up with people putting anything in his mouth. Maybe time for the daughter to learn a new skill and compete bitless until he's got over it (after a dentist has checked the rest of his mouth).

 

[Carrottom]

If you normally use a metal bit, have you tried one made from a different material, maybe just on a headstall, to break the association.

 

[nagblagger]

Or ride bitless at the moment?

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

After extractions I’ve always been told 14 days before using bit during work due to bruising and to fully aid the healing process. I suspect he is hurting or is expecting it still to hurt. I wonder how you are presenting the bit..do you expect the horse to open his mouth and take the bit in himself or are you using thumb in the bars of the mouth to open?

 

[GrassChop]

Echo what others have said. If you have any, you could always try and give him some bute an hour before attempting it to see if it's pain related.

 

[Tiddlypom]

By front tooth I presume that you mean an incisor?

My mare had 402/403 removed in May by a specialist vet dentist due to them being found to be dead and infected on x ray. The EDT hadn't noticed... She had three successive post op check ups at about 10 day intervals by the same vet dentist. There is no way that she would have been ready to have been bitted for several weeks after the extractions.



Her breath was pretty stinky too, it was the infection continiung to drain out.

She's healed up really well now.



In your case, I'd be wanting further dental x rays by a specialist vet dentist to see what else might be going on.

It's also possible that the necessary sedation for the procedure with the horse's head resting on a chin rest has caused displacement in the poll and/or TMJ area. My mare needed a treatment by my excellent chiro vet post her extractions.

 

[Northern Hare]

It probably doesn't apply, but I had a similar experience with a horse several years ago. I was convinced there was a shard of tooth left in the jaw, but the vet didn't agree. For an easy life he agreed to x-ray, and sure enough there was a small shard of tooth left in the socket. Once removed the problems resolved themselves.

 

[poiuytrewq]

It probably doesn't apply, but I had a similar experience with a horse several years ago. I was convinced there was a shard of tooth left in the jaw, but the vet didn't agree. For an easy life he agreed to x-ray, and sure enough there was a small shard of tooth left in the socket. Once removed the problems resolved themselves.

I had the same, weeks after the removal the horse refused to be bridled and he had fractured bits floating round in his gum causing inflammation.
Horses don’t suddenly get behavioural issues like that for no reason.

 

[Ellestan]

Or ride bitless at the moment?

Yes definitely intending to do this so that he isn't escaping being ridden

 

[Ellestan]

After extractions I’ve always been told 14 days before using bit during work due to bruising and to fully aid the healing process. I suspect he is hurting or is expecting it still to hurt. I wonder how you are presenting the bit..do you expect the horse to open his mouth and take the bit in himself or are you using thumb in the bars of the mouth to open?

I ordinarily use thumb to open, however have tried both since the refusal, including something tasty on the bit, but no avail

 

[Ellestan]

If you normally use a metal bit, have you tried one made from a different material, maybe just on a headstall, to break the association.

I haven't, bitless bridle is acceptable and no issues, but yes, perhaps a rubber bit might work

 

[Ellestan]

Echo what others have said. If you have any, you could always try and give him some bute an hour before attempting it to see if it's pain related.

Have tried this and sadly no differen

 

[Ellestan]

By front tooth I presume that you mean an incisor?

My mare had 402/403 removed in May by a specialist vet dentist due to them being found to be dead and infected on x ray. The EDT hadn't noticed... She had three successive post op check ups at about 10 day intervals by the same vet dentist. There is no way that she would have been ready to have been bitted for several weeks after the extractions.

View attachment 123458

Her breath was pretty stinky too, it was the infection continiung to drain out.

She's healed up really well now.

View attachment 123459

In your case, I'd be wanting further dental x rays by a specialist vet dentist to see what else might be going on.

It's also possible that the necessary sedation for the procedure with the horse's head resting on a chin rest has caused displacement in the poll and/or TMJ area. My mare needed a treatment by my excellent chiro vet post her extractions.

Thank you, this is really helpful, yes 403 was removed.

I have had a physio take a quick look today and there is sign of TMJ pain, so thinking he could benefit from a good physio treatment, a few weeks off trying to allow him to heal/recover, and then a call back to specialist vet if still all going on.

 

[Ellestan]

I had the same, weeks after the removal the horse refused to be bridled and he had fractured bits floating round in his gum causing inflammation.
Horses don’t suddenly get behavioural issues like that for no reason.

Thank you - as below, going to try a physio workup and then ask the specialist vet to return and checkup

 

[AmyMay]

.

 

[clairebearnz]

As a totally off the wall thing, my boy who is usually pretty reliable to bridle was suddenly a bit funny. I wrote it off as being dark/windy as he wasn't *that* bad but thought maybe dental or something. On the third day, he swung his head away from me, bumped it against the wall, and burst the abscess that was developing on the end of his nose (likely from shoving his nosy face into a gorse bush).

He then went back to being fine to bridle.....

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I know when I had several teeth out and a denture fitted that after a few weeks bits of bone were working their way out and in fact I had to stop wearing the denture because of one nasty little spike. Might be something like that that can't be seen yet.

 

[Widgeon]

thinking he could benefit from a good physio treatment, a few weeks off trying to allow him to heal/recover, and then a call back to specialist vet if still all going on.

That sounds really sensible to me, no point panicking now when it may be that all he needs is time to recover.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I'd be wanting further dental x rays now just to check that all is in order, and that the horse just needs more time. I presume that initial x rays were done?

Otherwise you may just be putting off dealing with a problem that will still need sorting further down the line. If nothing untoward is found, then that is still very useful information .

 

[maya2008]

I'd be wanting further dental x rays now just to check that all is in order, and that the horse just needs more time. I presume that initial x rays were done?

Otherwise you may just be putting off dealing with a problem that will still need sorting further down the line. If nothing untoward is found, then that is still very useful information .

Absolutely this. If on the surface all is well, it is really worth an x-ray to see if something is going on beneath the surface.