Festive_Felicitations
Well-Known Member
This is taken from an Australian forum, I realise that standard etc are different in the UK but as a cautionary tale it is well worth reading.
"Just over a month ago, I lost my beautiful horse under tragic circumstances. Im writing this because it all could have been prevented, in the hope that others reading this may make different choices and prevent loss or damage to their horse. Over the last several years, I have had my horses teeth treated by a non-vet equine dentist using power tools. The subsequent damage to his teeth became apparent in August this year, when he displayed violent head tossing. My local vet was called the day he displayed this behaviour and he quickly made the diagnosis of exposed pulp, he was easily able to push needles into several of my horses teeth. After x-rays and pictures were sent off for a referral, the diagnosis of damaged teeth leading to the pain my horse was suffering was confirmed. They thought there were 4 teeth affected, two molars and two incisors. During this period he was unrideable, and although he was eating and in great physical condition, when I look back on my feed book he was consuming twice the ration of pellets hed ever been given..
About two weeks later I took him to Scone where he was to have the teeth removed. During the exam by the Vet dentist, it was discovered there were 3 incisors affected, obviously taking all of them out would create grazing problems, so root canal therapy was suggested to preserve his teeth. The root canal treatment had to be performed by another specialist vet- so that was to happen later. After I got him home and rode him again, there had been a massive improvement. H e was moving better across his back than he had in years. I was excited and very hopeful I was getting my beautiful horse back., however if I schooled him for more than about 40 minutes, the head tossing re-appeared and although not as violent, it was evident there was residual pain, and the vets thought it was from the incisors. As I hadnt worked him much from the initial diagnosis in August, in the last few weeks of his life we went for lots of trail rides to put some miles on. He was happy, healthy and full of vitality. In early November I took him to an equine hospital near to us for his root canal treatment as he needed to have a general anaesthetic. The vet dentist from Scone drove down and another vet dentist from QLD flew in to perform the surgery. Although my lovely boy had an uneventful surgery, and did wake up from the general anaesthetic, he had a respiratory and cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by the hospital staff, but could not get up. Im grateful we had a few moments with him before having to make the decision to let our lovely boy go, but to see such a strong, healthy beautiful animal brought down so easily by something as simple as his teeth was unfathomable and devastating.
My beautiful boy was the fulfilment of a childhood dream, my first horse, my best friend and the kindest and most gentle horse with the biggest heart imaginable. We miss him every day our place is empty without him.
The practice of cutting and grinding teeth to the extent my horses were is not that unusual. Yesterday I spoke with a lady who is about to embark on getting her 1* horse 6 root canals in his incisors, the damage has been caused by an non-vet equine dentists treatment with power tools. Ive spoken to others whose horses after treatment by an equine dentist using power tools have never recovered to eat properly again. The problem is that the damage is not necessarily evident right away, it can take years.. The case Ive posted on line is regards a vet in QLD was suspended for this practice. There is however no regulatory body monitoring non-vet equine dentists who can take action on my behalf, as a consumer of a service I have no where to turn. Power tools in the wrong hands are clearly very dangerous, they should be in the hands of trained experts only. Ive come to learn that they are not a necessary tool for every horse either, sometimes a rasp and file is just fine.
My beautiful horse boy is gone only as a result of the treatment he received for his teeth. While he was on the table, they discovered at least another 6 teeth which would need treatment at some time. What would his life have looked like I wonder
If you have had an experience like mine, or know someone that has, PLEASE SPEAK UP. If I had known about the damage this practice can cause I have no doubt I would have made different choices and my lovely boy would be alive today, in the paddock enjoying his life as he should be."
"Just over a month ago, I lost my beautiful horse under tragic circumstances. Im writing this because it all could have been prevented, in the hope that others reading this may make different choices and prevent loss or damage to their horse. Over the last several years, I have had my horses teeth treated by a non-vet equine dentist using power tools. The subsequent damage to his teeth became apparent in August this year, when he displayed violent head tossing. My local vet was called the day he displayed this behaviour and he quickly made the diagnosis of exposed pulp, he was easily able to push needles into several of my horses teeth. After x-rays and pictures were sent off for a referral, the diagnosis of damaged teeth leading to the pain my horse was suffering was confirmed. They thought there were 4 teeth affected, two molars and two incisors. During this period he was unrideable, and although he was eating and in great physical condition, when I look back on my feed book he was consuming twice the ration of pellets hed ever been given..
About two weeks later I took him to Scone where he was to have the teeth removed. During the exam by the Vet dentist, it was discovered there were 3 incisors affected, obviously taking all of them out would create grazing problems, so root canal therapy was suggested to preserve his teeth. The root canal treatment had to be performed by another specialist vet- so that was to happen later. After I got him home and rode him again, there had been a massive improvement. H e was moving better across his back than he had in years. I was excited and very hopeful I was getting my beautiful horse back., however if I schooled him for more than about 40 minutes, the head tossing re-appeared and although not as violent, it was evident there was residual pain, and the vets thought it was from the incisors. As I hadnt worked him much from the initial diagnosis in August, in the last few weeks of his life we went for lots of trail rides to put some miles on. He was happy, healthy and full of vitality. In early November I took him to an equine hospital near to us for his root canal treatment as he needed to have a general anaesthetic. The vet dentist from Scone drove down and another vet dentist from QLD flew in to perform the surgery. Although my lovely boy had an uneventful surgery, and did wake up from the general anaesthetic, he had a respiratory and cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by the hospital staff, but could not get up. Im grateful we had a few moments with him before having to make the decision to let our lovely boy go, but to see such a strong, healthy beautiful animal brought down so easily by something as simple as his teeth was unfathomable and devastating.
My beautiful boy was the fulfilment of a childhood dream, my first horse, my best friend and the kindest and most gentle horse with the biggest heart imaginable. We miss him every day our place is empty without him.
The practice of cutting and grinding teeth to the extent my horses were is not that unusual. Yesterday I spoke with a lady who is about to embark on getting her 1* horse 6 root canals in his incisors, the damage has been caused by an non-vet equine dentists treatment with power tools. Ive spoken to others whose horses after treatment by an equine dentist using power tools have never recovered to eat properly again. The problem is that the damage is not necessarily evident right away, it can take years.. The case Ive posted on line is regards a vet in QLD was suspended for this practice. There is however no regulatory body monitoring non-vet equine dentists who can take action on my behalf, as a consumer of a service I have no where to turn. Power tools in the wrong hands are clearly very dangerous, they should be in the hands of trained experts only. Ive come to learn that they are not a necessary tool for every horse either, sometimes a rasp and file is just fine.
My beautiful horse boy is gone only as a result of the treatment he received for his teeth. While he was on the table, they discovered at least another 6 teeth which would need treatment at some time. What would his life have looked like I wonder
If you have had an experience like mine, or know someone that has, PLEASE SPEAK UP. If I had known about the damage this practice can cause I have no doubt I would have made different choices and my lovely boy would be alive today, in the paddock enjoying his life as he should be."
my mairs 22
I have to say i wouldnt let a EDT/vet/dentist use power tools on her again unless it was really nescesary because she would need some heavy sedation 
