Senior dentistry
As our horses live longer and longer, problems arising from poor, or few, teeth are becoming far more common and the loss of one or more teeth can severely affect their ability to forage and chew.
Horses, like humans, only have one set of permanent teeth for their lifetime and therefore routine dental care is of the utmost importance to ensure this one set stays complete. Horses are also hypsodonts, meaning their teeth continuously erupting from the gum. Therefore, over time, the chewing process will constantly wear down each tooth, meaning the older the horse gets the less tooth there is left, which is why older horses may have more issues than their younger counterparts.
Regular dental check-ups are recommended at least every 6 months for horses with poor teeth and older horses.
Signs of dental issues
Signs that teeth may be missing or there is a dental problem:
- Your horse is quidding forage, or dropping feed.
- Your horse has lost weight – although this does not always mean that teeth are the issue. Make sure you schedule a full veterinary check-up, including bloodwork, to rule out any other underlying medical problems.
- Frequent choking.
Feeding suggestions
It is important to note here that no matter how many teeth are damaged or how many teeth your horse is missing, his ability to chew and thus digest food will be compromised. For any horse, fibre is the most important part of any diet, but missing or diseased teeth may mean that traditional hay and grazing is not an option. For example, if your horse is missing incisors, he might have difficulty grazing short grass as it will be difficult for him to grip and tear off the short stems. Grazing is still vital, however, but remember that you will not be able to rely on pasture as the major source of nutrients for such horses.
Horses without molars have difficulty grinding their feed, so in these cases it is best to avoid ingredients with hard outer coats such as whole maize, sunflower seeds or ingredients that need to be reduced in size before swallowing (such as long stem grass or hay). This is a problem as large clumps of hay or grass (boluses) could become stuck in the oesophagus, causing choke. Where a horse is missing in molars, then you will need to take some of the work out of chewing for him.
Where to start?
1. As far as roughage is concerned, horses with dental issues should still have free-choice access to either grazing or hay, allowing for a more natural range of behaviours. This can also help to reduce the chances of digestive upsets, such as gastric ulcers and colic. Choke-prone horses are the only exception to the rule and should not be allowed access to long-stemmed hay or pasture. Alternative fibre sources such as hay cubes, chaffs and beet pulp can help to provide quality fibre to the diet of horses no longer able to chew long-stemmed roughage and to supplement those who have difficulty grazing. Hay replacement or lucerne cubes are ideal roughage alternatives.
