Oliphant Equine

Unfortunately, along with keeping domesticated horses for human’s pleasure and use, we have adapted their environment to one that is no longer as naturally well-suited for them. Horses evolved to be free roaming and eat forages that are quite different than the ones we feed them today. Thicker grasses, shrubs, and trees made up a normal part of a wild horse’s daily diet, which helped to wear their teeth in a more even manner. The types of fine hays, grasses and concentrated feeds that are part of a domesticated horse’s normal diet have altered the horse’s way of chewing and wearing of their teeth. Furthermore, feeding horses on elevated surfaces, among other feeding modifications, have contributed to the development of more dental conformational issues in a developing horse. It is important to keep in mind that the life span of a wild horse is often shorter than that which is expected of a domesticated horse. The type of effects improper dentation can have on a horse (colic, weight loss, infection) lend themselves to an early death more easily in a wild horse, than in the domesticated one that can be provided veterinary care. The level of health desired is also important to keep in mind. While a wild horse may ‘survive’ for a number of years, their level of health is not taken into consideration. As caretakers of our domesticated equine partners, it should be our goal to help them attain optimal health. Proper dental care, which affects many other areas of the horse’s health, is a necessary component of providing the best health care possible.

While hand float paved the way for equine dentistry, there are numerous advantages of using an electric motorized float (also called a “power float”). Motorized floats allow the ability for fine-tuned, precise odontoplasty due to the development of many different specialized float heads and burs that can be interchanged on the same hand piece. These head pieces and burs spin in a rotary manner which help decrease the mechanical trauma to the periodontal tissues, as compared to the motion required by hand floats. Motorized floats also expedite the floating process so that the horses don’t have to maintain an open mouth position with pressure on their TMJs (tempomandibular joints) for as long of a period of time. This also usually lends itself to requiring less sedation due to the shortened length of time necessary for a proper dental float. While thermal injury is a common concern with motorized floats, in well-trained and educated hands, this can be avoided by not spending an extended period of time on one tooth. A sweeping motion between the front and back of the horse’s mouth with the float is often utilized to avoid any thermal damage.

This is a frequent and valid question posed by many horse owners. It is a common misconception that it can be answered by a quick look or feel of the first few teeth on an unsedated horse. Unfortunately, that type of brief examination can provide erroneous and incomplete information. Often times, horses can have severe imbalances and pathology in the back of their mouth that are unable to be observed unless fully sedated and examined with a speculum. Fractured molars, severe periodontal disease and other severe pathologies can often be missed and allowed to progress without proper examination that is necessary to answer this important question.