What could wear lower front teeth down?

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DubbleTrubble

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I've had my 11 year old gelding for eight months and had the vet out today for a routine dental check and rasp. She asked if he was a crib biter as his lower teeth were quite worn down. Well he isn't a crib biter, at least I've never seen him doing it and there's no evidence of him doing it in his stable, nothing chewed or slurped on. But she showed me how worn down his lower front teeth are and there is a definite dip in them where something has worn them down.

He was stabled at night over winter with small hole hay nets as he is very greedy and fairly round. He is out 24/7 now with a grazing muzzle on during the day, which I started putting on him a few days ago.

Is this something that's common with fatties and anyone else with a fatso has experienced, maybe from small hole nets or muzzles please? I'm wondering what I can do to stop it getting worse. :confused: Unless it happened in his previous home, maybe he didn't get enough turn out, was bored and a crib biter in his previous home? I think I'll get a specialist dentist out for the routine rasp next time, as the vet didn't seem to have any suggestions about what could have caused it other than crib biting and what I should do about it. In the meantime, I wonder if anyone on here has had a similar experience with worn lower teeth please? :)
 
Hi, not much help but my lad is very similar, has front teeth like a cribber - I've had him since a 4yo (now 12yo) and he's never once cribbed! He is a good doer but I don't use haynets or muzzles etc. Very strange!
 
When were his teeth done properly, maybe his molars at the back are so big they are putting his mouth at the wrong angle and he is using his front teeth more than he should, does this make sense. I would get a EDT out.
 
my mare had her teeth done by the dentist today and i mentioned that she was muzzled when at grass, he said 'a muzzle in his opinion should be the last resort for keeping weight of as the effect how the horse moves its jaw to graze and causes the enamel to be worn off of the front teeth and can lead to tooth loss, and the muzzle was working so well for her waist line:(

not sure a muzzle could wear down teeth in the way you describe though
 
My fatty has worn down front teeth, as did another horse I used to look after. With mine the EDT asked if she was a cribber as it was a similar wear pattern (she's not & I've had her since 10mths, now 7yo) & as she isn't we eventually determined it was from them rubbing on the abrasive fabric of the muzzle. The other one was from being in a bare paddock & her teeth wearing down on the soil/ground.
Could your have worn a muzzle in a previous home? or been on a bare paddock?
 
Maybe in a previous home he was in a small or very poor paddock and got into a fence chewing habit? Just thinking a fence rail might wear lower teeth down more than a stable door?
I agree it's a good idea to get a registered equine dentist to check, get recommendations from other folk locally.
 
Had a pony like this dentist said it was due to very short grazing, he was kept in a starvation paddock so could it be this ?
 
The first thing to check is if it is wear caused by tooth to tooth contact or by acid erosion caused by excess acid in the saliva.
 
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