Welcome

Welcome to 'heatherequinedentist.co.uk' I have set this site up to help horse and donkey owners gain a deeper knowledge of horse/donkey teeth and the importance of regular dental care.

As the owner of a 4year old hopeful dressage horse(Big Baby)and my beautiful but near toothless 28year old Dartmoor pony(Iddy Biddy)I know the important dental care is and the role it plays towards maintaining good health,good condition and good behaviour.Happy horse=happy owner!

I am a qualified Equine Dental Technician(EqDt) trained in the U.K and fully insured.I offer a professional,friendly and mobile service including a full examination of the head,jaw and teeth looking at the bone structure and muscle tone.I will then assess the inside of the mouth as a whole and use a variety of non-electric tools in my work.I openly encourage owners to put their hand in the horses mouth to feel the teeth when the gag is on,before and after.Some find it helps them to understand what I am doing and what I have done.I also carry a model horse head with me which I find useful as a visual tool when I am explaining things.I don’t use a gag on any animal under 2years old as the bone plates in the skull are still soft.I occasionally team up with other Equine Dentists also.

Horses will be born with up to 12 pre-molar teeth numbers 6,7&8 three teeth in each arcade.The central incisors erupt around the first week of birth and are in-wear 6-8weeks later.The median and corner incisors erupt 6-8weeks and 6-8months and are in-wear 6-8months and 1year.At 1year old,the first of the molars(9)start permanent eruption and by 4years old all the molars 9,10&11 will be permanently in-wear.By 5yaers old a horse should have shed its milk teeth/caps and have all its adult teeth in-wear,apart from canine(4)and wolf teeth(5).They may erupt but should not come in-wear.

Unlike domesticated horses,wild horses continuously graze on roughage thus naturally wearing teeth down.The forces of wear are matched by the continuous eruption of the teeth.The upper and lower pre-molars and molars will normally wear the teeth they are partnered to.However,factors such as soft food,reduced eating time and the teeth on the upper arcades being bigger and wider than the teeth on the bottom,horses no longer wear their teeth as much as they are designed to,resulting in the edges becoming very sharp.The upper teeth develop sharp enamel points to the outer cheek side of the teeth(buccal)and may damage the cheek tissue.The lower teeth have sharp edges on the inside nearest the tongue(lingual) and can cut or cause ulcers in the mouth.In domesticated animals,bits,nosebands and head collars to name a few,don’t allow for a horse to keep its sharp teeth away from its cheek or tongue to protect itself from lacerations and ulcers which will only worsen.Any problem with even 1 tooth can effect the entire arcade and disrupt the mastication(chewing)pattern and unbalance the whole head,jaw and teeth.

There are many other problems experienced with teeth which are briefly discussed in the Dental Problem section.