RE: dentistry--not Sarah! long!

[Marlene Moss <marlene.moss@wcom.com>]

I think that at least some level of regular dentistry is recommended.  We
don't have some of the rules in Colorado that some areas have, but I do have
someone else than my regular vet come for dentistry.

I am very lucky to have this lady around - she is a vet, trained in
dentistry, chiropractic and saddle fitting.  Can't get a much better
combination than that.  But she is also so calm and gentle with the horses.
So what I do is have my regular vet out once a year for shots and coggins
and he checks the teeth.  He tells me if he thinks any need done now or 6
months later and then I call the other vet.  I'd have her as my regular vet,
but she's quite a distance away and I hate to waste her time for shots when
she can be using some of her other talents to really help someone and their
horse.

My regular vet does a great job - he very close too.  And he knows I call
the other vet for dentistry.  He favors drugging, which more that outstrips
the cost of the travel charge of the dentist.  She doesn't drug unless it's
necessary, but she does use the whatchamacallit - thing you stick in the
horses mouth to keep it open.  It's safer for her that way to get a really
good feel for everything.  And because she is so calm and gentle, most of
the horses don't complain about that.

But here is a tidbit that may help people.  I went to a week long "clinic"
called The Horse Gathering in Estes Park a couple years ago.  Presenters
included Mark Rashid, Jessica Jahiel, Harry Whitney, and many others.  One
was an equine dentist and he gave us some things to look for in determining
if you need to get a dentist.  Some things were feeling the teeth and I'm
not going to try to pass that on via email (and I don't do it myself!).  But
one that really stuck was to go look at the forehead muscles on your horse's
head.  Are they symmetrical, evenly sized?

A horse should take a bite and chew entirely on one side, then the next bite
is chewed on the other side.  This keeps the teeth wearing evenly.  It also
exercises those muscles evenly.  So if your horse has uneven muscle
development, he likely needs some dental care.  Right after this session, we
went out to see a demo horse.  The demo horse was blind in one eye and those
muscles were strikingly different.  Yep, he needed some work.  He also
needed chiro care and it was thought that his blindness contributed to him
being one-sided in many ways.  I have kept in contact with the lady that
owned the horse and he is doing very well now.

When I got home from the clinic, I went out and checked all 6 of our horses.
Two were recently acquired mustangs that had been adopted a few years
before.  The owner completely neglected their health, no farrier, no shots,
no dentist.  They were in good health actually, except for a major trim
session that took my husband hours.  But surprisingly, one of them had
uneven muscle development in the forehead.  We got the dentist out and he
needed so much work she couldn't do it in one session.  But even with one
session (the second was done a couple months later), within a week or two,
those muscles were very similar.  His riding behavior changed rather
dramatically too.

So I think it's important to either learn to check some signs yourself or at
least have the teeth checked regularly by a professional.

Marlene