Many horses lose weight at this time of year as the grazing quality reduces.  However, too much weight loss will leave your horse vulnerable to the extremes of the winter weather.  Often it is assumed that the weight loss is due solely to poorer grass quality but if your horse is thinner than its peers some dental care may be needed.  Other signs that a dental examination is required are:

• Quidding.  (Dropping half chewed balls of food while eating)
• Long fibres in the droppings.  If the fibres are significantly longer than in other horses droppings, this indicates poor grinding during chewing
• Packing of the cheeks like a hamster while eating
• Repeated episodes of choke or colic
• Problems with the bit

The rear grinding teeth should form a continuous ‘wall’ of enamel with barely any gaps between the teeth.  Unfortunately horses often get pockets forming between individual teeth which allow food to become trapped.  The trapped food then rots and can set off a gum infection which leads to a very painful mouth.  Increasingly this is recognized as one of the leading causes of dental pain and poor chewing. Often a routine float will help with these gaps since it allows the teeth to work in a more natural fashion but sometimes further work is needed.  In the worst cases, the pocket is drilled out so that it is larger and shaped so that food does not get jammed in.  This does require specialist equipment.

Horses’ teeth are totally different to ours.  In humans, once our adult teeth have erupted, that is it and nothing changes until it is time for dentures.  In horses each new molar is several inches long and it continually erupts over the horse’s lifetime.  As the horse eats, the grinding surface is gradually worn away and the new tooth moves forward to replace it.  No more tooth is formed so eventually the horse ‘runs out’ of tooth.  Because British pasture grass is soft, it needs less grinding than the tougher wild grasses that the horse evolved to eat.  In addition, commercial feeds are very soft and easy to eat.  As a result, the side to side grinding part of the horse’s natural chewing motion is reduced and the sharp edges of the molars are not worn away as they would normally be.  Hence the need for routine dentistry.

			The sharp edges on the outside of the upper molars are readily visible A full dental examination involves visually checking every part of the inside of a horse’s mouth.  This usually means using a mirror and a good light source to check all angles of the molar teeth.  Painful pockets can be easily missed at the back of the mouth.  Have a look in yourself to see how the teeth are looking.  Sedation makes everything much easier.  The dental examination can be done more efficiently, with less stress to the horse.  Work at the very back of the mouth is tolerated much better in a sedated horse; this is often an area that is not examined satisfactorily in fractious horses.
	Above: a pulp cavity is checked for decay at the back of the mouth		There have been great advances in equine dental care over the last decade.  Increasingly, the veterinary view is that ‘less is more’ and that carefully considered minor adjustments to the teeth rather than heavy rasping is what is required.  There are increasing concerns that over-enthusiastic rasping during a horse’s lifetime may result in early tooth loss.  It is not impossible to feed an old horse with few teeth but in practical terms it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the weight on once several molars are gone. Proper dental care can even help old horses.  Do not think that weight loss is inevitable in old age.  Good quality dental care is essential in an older horse and can make a major difference to their quality of life.