Sycamore Equine Dentistry, Lurgan

I am often asked why horses need a dental technician. After all I have never seen a Dental technician following wild ponies around saying politely its time for your annual tooth rasp now my dear. !! Of course the truth is these horses all developed good mouths and jaws and ate natural foodstuffs and life expectancy was not always long. Domesticated horses are bred to carry us, to race, jump pull carts not for their mouths and we feed different foods to grass and want them to live as long as possible. As a result regularly managing a horses constantly growing teeth is an important part of their care Lack of care can lead to quidding as in photo opposite where the horse is not maximizing his food intake. Routine dental care can alleviate this. Problems in ridden horses such as difficulty turning left or right can be caused by uneven tooth growth again easily fixed by routine care. In young horses wolf teeth are usually removed prior to breaking in as they have very small roots (usually) and move when the bit is in the mouth causing pain and head shaking.