Q: What are the signs I need to call a dentist for my horse?

A: Ideally, your horse’s teeth should be checked by a professional at least once a year and, better yet, every six months. In between these appointments, the following signs signify you might need the dentist sooner than your next scheduled appointment:

• Quidding: Quidding is when a horse spits out balls of hay he has already chewed. A horse that quids is not swallowing his food properly. This can cause the horse to lose condition as his full nutritional needs are not being met.
• Weight loss: If your horse is struggling to chew, he cannot extract all of the nutrition he needs from fibrous feeds such as grass or hay. Bad teeth can therefore contribute to weight loss and also result in your horse being prone to choke and impaction colic.
• Slow eating: If your horse has broken teeth, infected gums, sore cheeks or any other pain in the mouth caused by dental problems, he may chew his food very slowly. This can lead to weight loss and poor nutrition, especially if the horse is rushed when eating, by, for example, horses wanting to steal his food.
• Spilling food: A horse that eats by spilling or throwing concentrate feed may be anxious about his food and want to prevent it from getting removed or stolen. Alternatively, he may struggle to hold the grain in his mouth and chew.
• Bad odour: If there is a foul odour coming from your horse’s mouth or nose, suspect an infection in the mouth. This odour might be the only sign of a potential problem and is likely to require dental work and antibiotics in order to resolve.
• Drooling: Horses may drool after having eaten plants containing fungi or other irritating substances, or something might be embedded in the gums or under the tongue. Alternatively, some horses drool because they have a dental problem.
• Sinus discharge: A small trickle of clear fluid is normal from your horse’s nose, but a running nose with thicker liquid can be a sign of a sinus or dental infection.
• Dehydration: Horses with bad dental problems may be hesitant to drink cold water. A lack of water can lead to choke and impaction colic, and difficulty getting all the necessary nutrition from the food.
• Head tossing: There are many reasons why a horse may toss his head, but as dental issues are a common cause, the teeth should always be checked.
• Head shy: If your horse is head shy and does not want you to touch or groom his face, then a painful dental problem could be the cause.
• Playing with the bit: A horse that fusses with the bit may be reacting to discomfort caused by the bit itself, but in some cases, the issue is actually a dental problem that makes holding onto the bit uncomfortable. Sometimes extra teeth can be a problem, and other times there may be sharp hooks or points that are causing general oral discomfort.
• Spooking:Dental pain can cause horses to become spooky and bolt.