Teeth and incompetent owners! *rant*

[clairel]

Why do some people think having their horses teeth rasped is not important!!

I have had this new horse a few months and (stupidly I know!)

presumed his teeth were fine as although his flatwork is not great I put this down to his lack of schooling for the last 5 yrs. After riding him on fri in a mexican grackle for the 1st time, he was very upset in his mouth so decided to have a feel in his mouth.

OMG!!! I nearly sliced my thumb open! They were so sharp I don't think he had had them rasped in at least a good few years!

Sooo..... dentist came this morning and did a great job on him, but did have to have him sedated to remove a wolf tooth from under the gum line. So after 2 days off he should definately be much happier to ride.

So I suppose the point of this rant is how can someone who told us how much they loved the horse and how sad they were to sell him etc. etc. not have cared enough to have a dentist look at his teeth! Oh! it makes me really mad that good horses end up with such idiots!

 

[LankyDoodle]

I feel the same.

I went to see a horse on Saturday. The teeth is a small issue in comparison to some of the others (I doubt if even someone who knew nothing about horses would buy from her, she was so disgenuine).

We asked her what the horse was like to have his teeth done and how his teeth were and she, very unreliably, said 'I had X's teeth done when I had him and to be honest he was fine'. She'd had him just over THREE years!!! She said 'look, you can open his mouth easy enough and see his teeth'. Yes, well he was doped m'love!

 

[gothdolly]

Poor horse - at least he has you who has sorted his teeth out

I think Im the only person I know who has their horse's teeth checked every 6 months though if I dont they always get sharp edges and problems...
Cassandra

 

[the watcher]

I know I shouldn't be, but I am constantly surprised how few people pay attention to their horses' teeth, and people you would consider to be quite competent owners too. It hardly costs much extra to get the vet to check them when doing annual jabs, at the very least.

 

[jesterfaerie]

When I went to veiw one of mine I was reassured that he had recently had his teeth checked. Bought him and he was quite one sided with his contact but I too put it down to no schooling and that he hadn't been ridden for a while. He did start to get better but had the dentist come out anyways and he said that they had not been done for quite a long time, although they weren't horrendous.
I was not supruised at all TBH as they have been so dishonest about him in every other way.
I felt so bad as I hadn't had his teeth checked straight away just put it down to schooling.

 

[Adina]

Some years ago I had an Arab on loan for my daughter. The owner seemed like she really loved her horse. When asked, she said that his teeth had been done a couple of months ago.
But when we first fed him, he didn't quid but he took forever to eat. The dentist said he hadn't had his teeth done for a LONG time. As soon as his teeth were done he ate normally.
But it is possible for teeth to get sharp very quickly in some circumstances. As a young horse I first had Ruben's teeth checked by a dentist and he was reluctant to do much as he was losing caps. But he recommended removing wolf teeth. Under sedation it was possible to see how crooked they were. He had a "wave" mouth and some teeth were irregular like turrets. So as young horse he had his teeth check every six months + again anytime he did not feel right in the hand. One time he had a bad hook 3 months after a tooth check. The Vet said he would not have believed it if he had not been the one doing the previous check. The problem with this sort of mouth is that you cannot take too much off at once. He is now 15 and has an almost "normal" mouth.

 

[Bosworth]

I have managed to persuade all my liveries to have their horses teeth done by my equine dentist. One livery was really scathing and had been saying that it was a waste of money because the vet had only done them 3 months ago when he had removed the wolf teeth. When her teeth were checked they were horrendous and she had huge black ulcers all down either side. They had not come in the past 3 months So had obviously been there when the vet 'did the teeth'. That owner is mortified. They had done what they thought was the correct thing and had the vet out to do teh teeth.

I believe very strongly that the vets are largely to blame - they see the horse at least once a year to inject and that is the time they should check if the teeth need doing. If they are not competent to do teeth then they should advise the owner of an appropriate dentist. Vets in most cases are not good at teeth. The one who had done my liveries is a well respected vet, he sees hundreds of horses and he is useless at teeth but would never admit it. he seems to only check the front ones and has one rasp. So don't castigate all owners - it may not be their fault, just seriously bad advice from dentists who are ignorant about dentistry

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

My new horse whom I got in May had never had his teeth done. He is now 7. I was having another horse vetted for someone and got my vet to look at his teeth - he was amazed and said he'd never had them done. My horse used to hang to the left really badly and now doesn't do it.

He is an ex racehorse and I don't think they bother that much about teeth and backs etc.

 

[kildalton]

When I was selling my horse, when she was being vetted, the vet said that Molly's teeth needed doing, and she had an ulcer. In fact she'd had her teeth done the previous night, and I had them done every six months ever since I had her. Needless to say, I didn't use that dentist again.

 

[hairycob]

When I bought my first horse I knew her owner & knew she had the dentist out regularly & her teeth had been done about a month before I bought her.Vet suggested that it might be a good idea to get a different dentist to look at her teeth as she wasn't impressed. Good thing, only her front teeth had been done and the back of her mouth had ulcers. Same vet gets dentist out as she doesn't think most vets are good at teeth.

 

[Irishcobs]

I don't understand it either. The dentist isn't expensive.
My new 3yr old has never had his teeth done as he came to me untouched. My dentist removed two big wolf teeth and floated the backs, he didn't do too much as he still has caps, I was charged £45 which I think is very good considering the effort it took to remove the wolf teeth.

 

[DragonSlayer]

I have no qualms over the vet doing my horses teeth. One of my horses needs sedating, and he does a damn good job at it. This new mare hadn't obviously had her teeth done in ages, and since they were done, she is much happier in her mouth. The vet also allows me to put my hand in and tells me what I'm looking for, before and after, he goes right to the back too....some dentists don't, as I found out with one dentist I used to have.....I take my horses for their vaccinations at the surgery, and they have their teeth done at the same time, a couple have to go twice a year though for rasping. The vet is also half the price of what the dentist used to charge me.