Finally the rain lessened and travel was possible. Bridget being a fussy quarter horse breeder has all of her horses treated annually, not just those in work but all of her brood mares and youngsters along with those aged mares who are seeing their last years out in the big open paddocks not far from her home. You see Bridget knows just how important regular dentistry is to the overall well being of all her horses and see this as part of good animal husbandry. Bridget has been using Dave and Sue for a number of years now. We look forward to catching up with Bridget to hear all that has been happening on her stud. This year it was exceptionally grand to have her daughter Indiana at home on the weekend we were there, to see how much she has grown up and watch her handling the youngsters. A great young horsewoman in the making there !!

The opportunity to follow up on a couple of horses who had had some extensive corrective dentistry performed 12months ago has been invaluable to us as we have seen how well these horses are now travelling 12months later. Bridget commenting on just how much better the horses in question have been since the work was performed.

The owner of the horses Dora contacted us and was keen to schedule a time for Dave  to treat the horses, knowing that she had a 10 hour round trip in front of her Dora was not deterred.  Now that Dora was aware her three horses required this dental treatment she was anxious to bring them to us as soon as possible. Our local vet was contacted and we all coordinated a time for treatment.

Our first patient a BIG Warm blood named “Shorty” presented with enormous high lower number 11′s the last molar and equally high upper number 10 molars. These adjustments took quite some effort on both patient and operator. Shorty displayed some TMJ discomfort which was to be expected due to these malocclusion’s, also requiring an adjustment of his front teeth which were too long which prohibited his back molars from touching, this in turn reduced the amount of  “chewing” power Shorty would have. After all these adjustments were carried out Shorty is now on the way to a healthier mouth, with a follow up recall appointment in 6 months to see how he has travelled. A big thank you to our vet who stayed on site for most of the treatment time ensuring Shorty was kept as comfortable as could be during the dental treatment.

The following 2 horses Rambo and Noleen had almost identical dental problems which required the adjustment of ramps on lower 11′s and an adjustment of high lower 9 molars which had “mashed” out the opposing upper tooth. A common problem which does require some attention as left unattended will continue to mash out the opposing tooth causing premature wear leading to the early loss of function of the tooth.

Happy owner and happier horses leaving the property at well afer 6pm for a long drive home, we look forward to seeing both horses and Dora in 6 months time.

SUMMARY  : If your present equine dentist mentions that your horse has Ramps or Hooks any high teeth or your horses front teeth are looking long or have what we call a incisor curve of the front teeth this needs to be addressed and merely removing the sharp enamel points with hand rasp is not good equine dentistry for your horse. Contact Equidae to discuss any of your horses dental queries

Awaiting some before and after photos from Dora

Gooseneck trailer complete our journey home began with a stop in Meringur where Sue and Stu called by where were were treating a couple of horses to say hello  then on to Merbein for a bunch of horses that a regional co-ordinator Bobby Pipkin had organized. A great trip with few hassles home now eager to get back on our horses for some fun time >> not much chance of that with the deluge of rain though

Easel came to Bert when he was just a youngster of 2years of age and has been in since that time. A short while ago we had a call from Bert who was terribly concerned about Easel’s loss of weight.  We advised Bert that as Easel was now in his geriatric years he would need some help in his diet with most of his food partly chopped up to aid in Easels chewing capacity.

Bert followed our instructions to the letter and on our next visit to Victor Harbor we visited them.  Easel had a comfort float removing a few sharp enamel points and the adjustment of a molar tooth which was a little high.

A fabulous patient who was looking in remarkably good condition for an equine of 32 years of age.  Credit to Bert and our very first Donkey client. We look forward to catching up with them both next year.

The swelling is called ‘dental cysts’. This is due to the pressure of the permanent pre-molars trying to erupt through the gum and push the caps (baby teeth) off.  These lumps will go away once the permanent teeth have erupted and the cap is extracted. The front tooth is ‘sticking out’ because it too is a cap and needs to be extracted.

All of this is happening because of the age of the horse and the normal growth of the equine tooth.

This photo shows an adjustment of front teeth which were too long, restricting good contact of back molar teeth.

Treatment using power tools.

If you would like to see more photos of Dave in action, or photos from our travels, then please check out our Flickr Page.

• assist with comfortable placement for the bit to rest in mouth
• tongue relief
• lower bar relief
• cheek comfort
• palate comfort
• improved air flow
• improved performance.

The closest side image shows the placement of a bit seat on the first upper and lower molars.  The far side image shows that of a small hook on the upper molar.  This would be removed when the opposing bit seat was placed in the horse’s mouth.