Horses are living much longer than ever before, due to better medicine and preventative care, along with better feeding programs. Whether it is the Thoroughbred broodmare that remains in production at 20+ years of life or if it is the former show horse that now gives lessons to young riders during the twilight of its career, our horses are experiencing longer, healthier lives. As owners and veterinarians, it is our job to give them every opportunity to thrive as they continue to age. Part of this is to maintain a healthy mouth so that our companions can eat and process long stem grasses and hays that can be easily passed through the GI system and undergo digestion for access to the nutrients vital to good health. 1. Can your horse eat without pain? #1: This can be difficult to know as an owner. Good body condition or even excessive body condition is not an indicator that your horse is not experiencing pain while eating. Periodontal disease, loose teeth, cheek ulcers are a few of the most common and painful conditions in the mouth of a geriatric horse. The pain will typically cause the horse to chew differently and focus its crushing of hay and grass along teeth that don’t hurt (often on the other side of the mouth). When this happens, the teeth wear” differently and the mouth becomes imbalanced. The imbalance can perpetuate the formation of local inflammation, gingivitis, which is painful. In other species, including humans, the link between oral health and general health is well known; gum disease is a way for bacteria to gain access to the blood stream and disseminate throughout the body causing infections in a fetus, lungs, kidneys, heart, and other organs. 2. Does your horse have enough teeth left to eat long stem hay? #2: Their teeth continue to erupt as they age. If horses live long enough they WILL run out of teeth. The cheek teeth will continue to erupt into the mouth until there is nothing left in the skull, at this point they become loose and either fall out or are removed by one or our veterinarians. The age at which this happens can vary, depending upon previous oral/dental health, breed, diet, and other factors. It can happen in the early 20’s to the late 30’s. The advent of readily available commercial feeds focused on the dietary needs of the geriatric horse has been a great advance in animal husbandry. Also the availability of chopped hay has made it possible for these older horses to have the forage in their diet that they need without the necessity of chewing and grinding long stem hay that their teeth can no longer do efficiently. What can be done? An annual physical exam is needed to assure that your horse is in good health. At this time it is also equally important to have an Oral / Dental exam performed. Many of the abnormalities that occur in your horse’s mouth happen slowly over time and if detected and treated early and properly, they can be stopped or reversed in their progression. The dental exam must be more than feeling sharp teeth and waving a light around the mouth. It must be performed with sedation and a full mouth speculum to aid in complete visualization of the teeth and oral cavity. In addition to this one of our veterinarians may also use a dental mirror, probe, and explorer similar to your own dentist. Call and schedule a dental exam for your horse today! Fox Run Equine Center foxrunequine
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 22:00:00 +0000
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