How To Provide Dental Care For Your Horse

If you are the owner of horses, you will no doubt want them to live as long as possible. To do this, you will want to make sure you feed your horse properly, and care for their teeth. It is important to feed your horse good grass, grain, and make sure it drinks plenty of water.

Even if your vet checks the teeth of the horse every six months, there may be areas of the upper premolars which are causing the horse pain. There may even be ulcers which are developing in the cheeks. You want to make sure you check for this, as all horses need frequent dental care. While many schools on equine health focus on taking care of many aspects of horse health, many fail to teach the important aspects of dental care.

Because of this lack of training, many horse owners are having to seek help from horse dentists which are not veterinarians. The reason it is so important to check the teeth of the horse frequently is because horses begin to develop points in their teeth six months after receiving dental care. These points generally appear on the outer part of the upper teeth in the cheeks. Grass and hay are very rough, and sharp pieces of hay or grass will be left in the upper edges, and will begin cutting into the cheeks.

Some may think that these small points will do very little in hurting or killing the horse. However, this is incorrect, because the cuts in the lining of the mouth will cause bacteria and other microorganisms to enter the body of the horse, and will eventually add stress to the heart and immune system. As the years pass, this will take its toll on the horse. Because of this, you can extend the life span of your horse by providing them with proper dental care.

Many students who practice veterinarian medicine do not study the dental aspect of horses, and often do not have the time to learn the importance of dentistry for horses. Some horse owners are under the false impression that horses will let them know when they have dental problems. However, this is not the case, and many horses have died prematurely because of this false assumption.

Many horses begin to show signs when they suffer from permanent dental damage. They will lose weight and will begin to grow long hair. They die early when they could live an additional sixteen years if their teeth were cared for.