Severe rostral hook and accentuated transverse ridges
Not many owners will have a horse with problems as severe as those in the picture. This was not a case of neglect but a need for education, many owners are not aware that their horse needs a regular dental check up just the same as they do.
It is perfectly natural for a horse to form razor sharp edges to its teeth, the correct term for these is enamel points, and in some cases the odd tooth can become extremely over grown.
This can be caused by many natural processes during chewing. A horse at grass will eat for an average of 14 hours a day, which calls for between 30-50,000 chewing cycles. Each cycle will wear away a minute amount of the surface of his or her teeth.
Power tools being used to correct molar abnormalities
Each tooth erupts through the gum at approx 3mm per year in order to compensate for this wear. Any misalignment in the mouth can disrupt the normal wear pattern and cause an overgrowth of a minimum of 3mm during the course of a year.
Whilst 3mm might not sound a lot, in three years a single tooth can become overgrown by half an inch. Add to this the natural occurrence of the sharp enamel points and very soon a horse can be in pain with severe dental problems, possibly needing mechanized tools to realign and rebalance the mouth.
Reduction and realignment of incisors using power tool
When a horse chews it
does so in a circular motion. This necessitates an even surface to allow
the teeth to glide over each other, any protrusion however long impedes
this action this causes the horse discomfort and prohibits it from
grinding and digesting its food effectively.
Fish Photo Caption
Regular dental checks can identify any potential problems before they get out of control.
As a rough guide horses under ten years of age should have a check up every 6 months. Once they get into their teens the rate of eruption slows, it is then often possible to extend the check ups to 9 or 12 months. Although this does vary from horse to horse.