Losing teeth, when does it start?

[PaulineW]

Possibly a piece of string type of question, but generally when would you expect to see an older horse losing teeth? Is it front teeth first, or molars, or just random?

My mare is turning 22, and happy and healthy. She gets her teeth checked around Easter, and nothing of concern was noted. I’d like to be prepared though for age related developments.

 

[Spotherisk]

Mine is 29 and has all his teeth, dentist says you can tell he’s lived out most of his life, on forage rather than lots of hard feed.

 

[nutjob]

I had one who lived to 27 with a perfectly good full set of teeth.

 

[Follysmum]

My 25 and 24 have just had the dentist and are absolutely fine with no signs of any decline

 

[cobgoblin]

I've never had one lose any teeth, even at 33yrs. They did wear down a lot though.

 

[meleeka]

My 23 year old has some gaps although still has all his teeth. His front ones are quite worn too but he still eats without problems.

 

[Loveponies]

My pony was 30 plus when he lost a couple. I found them in his bed and left him carrots hidden in the banks from the tooth fairy!
My current boy is 30 and still has a full set but they are quite worn down .

 

[PaulineW]

Thank you all.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I have had two lose a back molar, they were related, sire of one was grandsire of the other so it may have been genetic. My sister's welsh C has lost a front tooth. We don't know when. She bought him Oct 17 when he was 16 and we both 'think' we looked at his teeth but can't be sure. Not very long after that we spotted that one was missing. His teeth are in good order and not loose or worn so no idea how he lost it. Doesn't seem to affect his ability to eat grass and he is a very good doer.

 

[AandK]

My late mare lost a couple in her mid to late 20s, she was 29 when I lost her, she had 3 molars missing at that point. 2 lost and 1 removed.

 

[Britestar]

24 yrs old has lost at least 3 on one side ( has know dental issues). 29yr old still has all hers, so just depends on the horse.

 

[teddypops]

I had a 32yo with all his teeth but my 31yo has lost 2. One was broken and came out in bits from about the age of 15 so I don’t know what happened to that. The other one has come out sometime in the last year.

 

[HashRouge]

Mine is almost 29 and hasn't lost any. She does have "old lady" teeth and has some issues with diastema, but her teeth have improved since her current dentist widened some of the gaps so she gets less food stuck.

 

[ester]

28, all still there but the diastema are problematic.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Mine is 27 and hasn’t lot any fully (at last check up in September) but his grinding teeth are very worn down so he has trouble chewing hay. Began to notice it end of summer 2020 when I had to start feeding hay due to the dry weather and he started to lose weight. Extra feed and partial hay replacers mean he is a good weight and still full of beans.