Horse Dental Health An Interview With a Horse Dental Specialist

Horse Dental Health - An Interview With a Horse Dental Specialist
By Ronnie Kellner

My Quarter horse, Chelsea, was losing weight. I increased her grains but she still continued losing. She had no symptoms of disease and showed no discomfort when chewing hay, although she was taking a little longer to eat it. So, I call my veterinarian, Dr. Heather Ross. She is a horse dental specialist.

Dr Ross arrives with her tool box. She washes this giant metal-syringe-like-tool. It is used only to clean out the mouth with water. Like with any dentist, I am apprehensive.

First of all Dr. Ross spends time with the horse to relax her and make friends.

She then gives her a dental exam. No root canal or braces needed. Thank goodness! I breath a sigh of relief. Horses never have root canals or bracesit is just a joke. Horses are not prone to cavities. But if they do get one, the cavity tends to be far advanced and has been caused by a defect. The affected tooth tends to abscess and the tooth has to be removed.

Chelsea needs her teeth floated. Floating is done by filing down sharp jagged teeth. This makes chewing more comfortable. Jagged teeth can hinder chewing and cause abrasions within the cheeks.A light sedation is used for Chelsea to make her more comfortable.

The Dentist keeps the horse in her stall for the sedation and the dental work. She attaches the speculum to the mouth. It looks like a halter with metal torture instruments attached to it. (Just like any dentist). But it only looks torturous and is used simply to keep her mouth open.

I hold Chelseas head up. Dr. Ross has a light attached to her forehead and starts to file the back teeth. The horse is relaxed. The file is big. She has a various sizes of files. She switches them depending on the area of the mouth she is working on. I change positions and now I hold the horses tongue out of the way while Dr. Ross uses a power tool file for a portion of the work.

Dr. Ross recommends NOT using a power tool if the horse is less than 7 or 8 years old. She cautions veterinarians to be very careful with power tools if just out of vet school. You have to be very strong to use the instruments. It is not only precision required but strength as well to manipulate these giant tools.

Chelseas nose twitches in enjoyment. The first and only horse ever who enjoys have the dentist visit.

Yes, a visit from the dentist is costly but it is important and worth the expense. Here are some great reasons to have your horses teeth checked on a regular basis.

Due to the discomfort of neglected teeth the horse can become difficult to manage. You then invest money in more training, then a different bit. You finally decide to sell the horse due to its bad temper. All the horse needed was a visit from the dentist.

So when you weigh the pros and cons of doing regular dental work for your horse; there are no cons. The expense is worth it. And that goes for humans as well. Thats you! Dont forget that yearly visit to your dentist.

What kind of jobs are there for a person interested in working with horses? I ask the good doctor. I am thinking of myself, I feel I am doing a great job holding the horses tongue and maybe I could be a Veterinarians assistant full time, and saunter about with a stethoscope dangling from my neck. I would look so cool. My fantasy bubble bursts when Dr. Ross gives me the cold hard facts: to do any kind of horse dentistry you must be a veterinarian. And no, she does not use an assistant. She prefers that the owner assists with their horse. Sometimes she has veterinarian student volunteers come with her on her rounds. This helps a student decide what kind specialty they would like to pursue.

But, there are jobs out there if you love working with horses. To become a veterinarian Technician you must take a 2-3 year course. But that will not guarantee you a job with horses. Lots of people want to work with horses. Here are some job ideas:

Horse barn manager

Riding teacher

Trainer

Stable operator

Horse massage therapist

Some useful tips from Dr. Heather Ross

A lb. of carrots a day is enough. More than that can give a horse gas and make it uncomfortable.

Never feed by hand - big horse rule.

Do not use round bales for your horse. They are too big, are left out in the rain and tend to develop mold inside. Horses can get respiratory problems from moldy hay.

visit my website http://www.livingwithhorses.com

Horse keeping and stable management information for the novice horse rider. Information you need to know - fast! Just click on the heading in which you are interested.

If you are thinking of making a big change in your life, and moving to the country and buying horses, this website will give you a taste, a feel for what your new life might be like.

And if you are just fantasizing about living the life you love.well just do it. Maybe this website will help those horse lovers out there who have not until now envisioned themselves living their passion horses I dived into a life surrounded by horses and I have no regrets. If you only have one life why not live it doing what you loveand not only on your annual 2 week holiday.

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