Poll again - aging horses

[Tia]

Following on from a previous post.

Aging a horse by it's teeth is, I believe, pretty basic horsemanship......but perhaps I am wrong??

 

[RunToEarth]

Get the general gist of it, my dentist showed me when I had all these problems with Oshk, as he suspected his age not matching what I have written on my passport

 

[jemima]

I'd go for fairly correct - but I am also well aware that particularly the table aging may not be accurate because it does depend on what the horse has been eating and other factors can come into play.

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

To be honest i look more at the horse as a whole.... Teeth are just one of the signs.

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

Also teeth aging leaves quite a huge gap like say 10-17 etc

 

[maddielove]

i get the gist/jist.

and i think i'd know what to look for.
but seems like something we should all know/learn.

 

[jayvee]

I wouldn't rely on aging horses by their teeth. Having a look at a potential purchase is no bad thing in fact an important check for many factors. But i would never go by it as a solid foundation for aging. So no I wouldn't rely on it much. There is no option for me to pick on the poll.

 

[Weezy]

Yep I feel very confident with teeth aging - I remember VIVIDLY studying illustrations over and over again as a child and then checking EVERY horses mouth I could find to age it!

 

[Tia]

No I certainly wouldn't use is a defacto. It can be an inconsistent method at times but generally it isn't so I feel that it is really useful to give a rough idea. As said previously, someone tried to sell me a horse they claimed was 12 - well according to it's teeth it was 22. Now it may not have been 22, it could have 21 or 23 or an age close....but it definitely wasn't 12 LOL!!

There are a couple of times throughout the life of the horse when using teeth is not totally reliable but you generally can't be more than a couple of years out.

 

[Tia]

Oh me too!! Are we muppets? LOL!!

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
Also teeth aging leaves quite a huge gap like say 10-17 etc

[/ QUOTE ]

That's usually one of the easiest ages to me.

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

It was just an example!

 

[sojeph]

I'm a bit obssessed with aging horses by their teeth

Every horse I come across one I can't help but to look in their mouth and guess their age

 

[Weezy]

Knowledgable muppets

I think the thing is, when we were younger, horse books available to us (I bought mine second hand at jumble sales and things!) were either "Breeds of the Worlds" (I tended to cut all the pics out and stick them on my wall) or proper "Horse Knowledge" books with umpteen line drawings, grainy black and white photos and real, proper, adult content that I still swear by now - none of this namby pamby crap you get now!

 

[Happy Horse]

I'd say I'm pretty good although I did make the mistake of looking at my boys teeth while he was eating a carrot and got a seriously munched finger so was a lot more cautious after that!

 

[Tia]

Yes you are right.....and I did exactly the same as you.....and what is worrying is Meg is following in my footsteps! I still have all my old books and she loves to dig them out and have a good read of "proper" old fashioned teachings.

Maybe it isn't something that the younger generations are taught? An art being lost?

 

[burtie]

I have been surprised when showing people Herbie's next 2 front permanent teeth that are about to pop out(you can see them under the gum line), by the amount of people who have been surprised that he does not have his full set of adult teeth yet!
P.s He is 3.5 years!!

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
Errr didn't know you could and am not interested in knowing!

[/ QUOTE ]

LMAO!! Who voted for this? Either you don't like me or my polls or ........

 

[Agent XXX999]

I genuinely havent a clue...can tell a baby horse from a big one though! At least I admit it!

 

[RobinHood]

I enjoy looking at teeth and having a stab at the horse's age. I think my mum's 3.5yr old has the most fascinating teeth, I look at them on a weekly basis.

 

[KarenX]

I voted no, but it might be useful! I leave the ageing to the vet tbh and dont worry about not knowing myself!

Karen

 

[loopeepee]

I am fairly confident - I wouldnt be be able to give you an exact answer and be 100% positive about what I have said (does that nake sense?!) But I have a good enough knowledge to be able to give an answer - well I'd like to hope so anyway.

 

[Skhosu]

Not a clue really, although have looked at pictures of horses teeth and tried to figure them out!

 

[Iceni Warrior]

Nearly every horse in Australia is branded ... Oscar has a CS on his left shoulder (the Registered brand of the stud that bred him) and 4 over 0 on his right shoulder, the 4 being the drop number and the 0 being the year ... so 2000! There are still occasionally problems with horses being 10 years out but its not that hard to check the brands register with the particular breed if you are that bothered. This kind of branding is a great idea I think!

 

[Chex]

I know the basics, but I can't honestly say I've ever needed to tell a horses age! I've had 2 vets and a dentist to look at mine, and none could get any more detailed than nearer to 20 than 10 (this was a few years ago). But to look at Chex he doesn't seem like an old horse, apart from grey around his face.

 

[riotgirl]

I can get the general gist of it all but wouldn't swear in a court of law I was definately right!

 

[Snowberry]

When our EDT last did Glens teeth he put him at somewhere between 15 - 17, he 23!!

(we have Glens full history) The EDT argued that he was definitely not 23 in his mouth!! LOL
I'm usually pretty good however, Becci is always spot on - I think she read/reads the same type of books as you and weezy!!