There are many elements in a horse's mouth that must remain within a normal range in order for that mouth to function properly and stay healthy. | Photo: Adam Spradling/The Horse

It makes little difference if you are new to horse ownership or a seasoned professional, you probably aren’t as familiar as you would like to be with the expanding field of equine dentistry. Horse owners have many questions about proper dental care for their equine charges. “My horse is only three years old. He doesn’t need his teeth looked at…does he?” “How often should my broodmares be examined?” “What about my daughter’s 4-H mount?” “My dressage horse is suddenly hanging on his right rein, but my vet just floated his teeth six months ago. What’s wrong?” “My 25-year-old Appy is having trouble eating. She slobbers and drops wads of hay. Could it be her teeth?”

The answers to the above questions will vary with each individual horse and each individual circumstance. There are, however, some general tendencies based on a horse’s age, gender, career, overall health, and dental health that provide guidelines from which to make recommendations.

When Does Dental Care First Need to be Addressed?

That one has an easy answer: At birth! At least a cursory visual and digital inspection of the foal’s mouth should be performed by your veterinarian during the “well-baby” examination the day of, or the day after, his birth. In addition to the rest of the physical examination, your veterinarian will check to make sure that the foal does not have a severe overbite or underbite that could make nursing difficult and predispose him to other dental abnormalities as he matures. It’s also important to make sure that the foal’s palate is normal so that he can swallow without difficulty