Thoughts on Parrot Mouths? Would you buy a horse with this condition?

Yes I would and I did!
As long as you have a Good dentist to keep up with good maintenance of all their teeth, especially the molars at the back, which will also not meet, to the same distance of the gap at the front.
My mare did benefit from a field with fairly long grass when she was a youngster (3yo) so that she could rip the grass off easily, as she did have a bit of a gap in her front teeth. As she got older, she's now 11, her bite has improved both as her teeth slope forward more and also from good dental care, she can now graze any length of grass.

I would be happy to take on another one with the same condition.
 
Yes, I have known a few horses (including one of mine) and they have not had any problems. In fact, it's good in a way as if they are bossy with others and prone to biting as my boy is, they do very little damage!
 
I bought too! (Well pony for daughter not for me!!) No probs with him at all, just make sure dentist sees him every 6 months - which is what I do with any anyway. x
 
It really depends how severe it is.

If an adult horse and not too prounced then yes I would.

If a youngster and not yet fully developed then I would have resevations.
 
I actually managed to breed one! :(

He was by an HIS TB stallion out of our homebred 14.2 mare, neither of whom had this condition.

When he was born, not only was he a bit of a runt, but it soon became obvious that he couldn't feed from the mare very well & that he was severely parrot mouthed.

With help he was bottle fed & then gently coaxed to feed from the mare. After a few days he was fine & could manage on his own.

As a youngster he was never a good doer & had to be on pro-biotics for life as he also had malabsorbtion syndrome (sp).

As said above, as he grew older his teeth 'met' better due to the angle changing & he began to put weight on. This would be at around 11 years.

There was another on the same yard who seemed largely unaffected by the condition.

My pony went on to become a decent child's pony, but he cost a fortune in pro- biotics before they became more common place.

If the pony looks well & does the job, then I would consider buying, but at a reduced price.
Afterall, Dancing Brave performed brilliantly on the racecourse & he was parrot mouthed (as were several of his progeny).
 
Several years ago a parrot mouthed pony got Best of Breed at Olympia M&M pony of the year!!!
Needless to say there were others of the same breed without parrot mouths, however I think it was more to do with owner of said pony rather than pony itself!!
 
^^^^^^^^^

This is very surprising!

She is a 4 year old mare but I obviously wouldn't plan to breed from her. Some sources have said that it isn't inherited but I definitely wouldn't take that chance!!

She looks quite fat so doesn't seem to have problems with eating or digesting food.

I wonder if there was going to be a problem with this, it would have come to light when she was younger?

If I buy her, I will have the dentist every 4 months I think to be on the safe side!
 
If anyone is interested, I can get hold of some almost unbelievable before and after photo's of a horse with a fairly severe overbite and resulting malocclusion. I could challenge you to guess if they are of the same horse!
 
brighteyes said:
If anyone is interested, I can get hold of some almost unbelievable before and after photo's of a horse with a fairly severe overbite and resulting malocclusion. I could challenge you to guess if they are of the same horse!
Click to expand...

Yes please!

When we used to follow racing we saw some of Dancing Brave's progeny race. (I was particularly interested because of the foal I had bred.) I saw a couple who had clear parrot mouths & some that didn't. Therefore I believe it can be inherited.
 
I think it's pretty much a definite that it's inherited. I bought my parrot mouth girl from a stud and the mare had another one the same the following year, so they never bred from the mare again and gelded the stallion, to make sure the defect gene was definitely put to bed.
 
Yes would & have bought a ride/drive pony with this. Owned him for years and never regretted it.
 
Thanks everyone!

I'm planning to keep her forever so I'm not worried about the resale complications but just out of interest, is it difficult to sell on a horse with parrot mouth in your opinion?
 
My chap is parrot mouthed and didn't ever give him a problem- finished up doing GP dressage. It's difficult to keep weight on him now at 24 but wouldn't put me off buying another ( I was given this one)
 
I would, but it would depend on the degree of parrot mouth that we are talking about.
One of mine had a slight parrot mouth, he was placed as a show horse at hoys, rihs, hickstead and windsor just to name but a few. :p
He did require a good dentist, which he saw ever 6 months, he kept his weight, and died of a totally unrelated condition at the respectable but untimely age of 19 :(
 
I also bred a parrot mouth, neither the stallion or sire had a parrot mouth, when my horsde was was born there was no sign of a parrot mouth but it developed quite quickly
I religiously have the teeth done regularly, kept in a field with reasonably high grass and I don't mend holes in my haynets, I also ensure I feed with high quality feed
I have no problems keeping weight on or biting and the mouth is overshot
 
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