Horse with parrot mouth

[sarah23]

I'm thinking about buying a new horse. I have seen some thing I like but it has a over shot jaw. The currant owner says he is fine with it and is fat so def no probs with him eating. I haven't seen him yet, going at the weekend so not sure how bad it is yet.

I have never come across this before so have no idea if this is a problem or if it not a lot to worry about.

Sorry if I should have posted in new lounge but I want to compete him so wasn't sure where to post

 

[tinap]

Our old jumping pony had a slight parrot mouth. It didn't affect him in any way, he was jumping upto 1.10m when we sold him, but I did make sure his teeth were checked every 6 months xx

 

[Gamebird]

The problem is not that fact that the incisors don't align but that the molars don't and you get big hooks on the front upper molars and the back lower one. The degree of misalignment will define how bad these hooks are. If the horse has been well looked after dental-wise then there should be no issue - they rarely cause a problem eating. If you're thinking of having the horse vetted I'd just ask if the vet could put a gag on and check that the overgrowths aren't too bad. It's not part of the standard vetting so you will need to ask. If you buy the horse make sure you have its teeth done regularly.

Some TB lines carry this problem. The worst case I saw was a pretty successful NH horse who had a disparity of over 1.5". How no-one shot him at birth I have no idea! He had no problems eating but he didn't like having a bridle put on - you had to dismantle it - and I never worked out whether that was related to him having some dental pain or was just coincidental.

 

[TarrSteps]

Re vetting, I'd suggest anyone getting a horse vetted get its mouth inspected. I've never personally seen an issue with a moderate parrot mouth but I did work with a horse that was very offset laterally - essentially her lower teeth were wider apart than her upper ones - and that caused real problems. Very good management did help the situation but the owner did say at the time she might have passed on the horse had she fully understood the ramifications.

 

[tinap]

^^ yep some good advice. I made sure on vetting that the vet paid particular interest to the ponys mouth due to seeing it had a parrot mouth beforehand. His advice was regular 6 monthly dental checks to keep ontop of any hooks. If we went much longer (7/8 months) the daughter could always tell they needed rasping x

 

[OliveOyl]

I have a dressage horse with a parrot mouth and with routine regular rasping, to keep everything well maintained she has no problems with it whatsoever. I bought her as a 3yo so have always made sure it never gets neglected, which I think is the key to it really, if you leave the teeth to grow at the back, as they're not getting worn down normally due to the deformity, then it can be a bigger job to get things lined back up again.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

CS has a moderate parrot mouth and fig a minor one, both see our excellent EDT every 6 months as otherwise, as mentioned, you get huge hooks.

it doesnt affect them in any way, work wise or eating wise

CS is actually worse than just a plain overshot jaw, as he has ramps and waves too, so barely any of his teeth meet where they should! EDT curses me frequently and says how do i always managed to buy horses with great legs and feet but s*** teeth!!!!!!

 

[sarah23]

Thank you guys for your advice. If I get him I shall make sure I have his teeth checked regularly