Equine Dental Services

Young horses go through many changes in their body from birth to 5 years of  age. Many times horse owners fail to recognize the importance of routine dental care. This page will help you to detemine the care your young horse needs.

A foal should be examined shortly after birth. Routine checkups every six months until 5 years old.

Young horses shedding caps may be uncomfortable at times. If the cap becomes loose or retained the horse  may have difficulty eating their feed.

Many dental problems in older horses could have been pevented if they had received dental care much younger.

Do Not wait until your horse has a problem before you begin dental care.

Another advantage of routine care of younger horses is to identify problems before they begin training and have pain due to training.

A young horse handled properly will learn that dental care is nothing to fear and will not require sedation..

Newborn to 1 year Old

Young horses should be examined shortly afte birth to determine if there are any congenital defects. Parrot mouth (overbite) Monkey Mouth (underbite) proper alignment of the upper and lower arcades.

Yearling to 2 years Old

At 12 months of age all the deciduous teeth should have erupted. The first molar in the cheek should be starting to erupt. Hooks or ramps may have formed on he first premolar, which will pull or push the arcade depending on the problem. If left uncared for, it will place pressure on the temporomandibular joint. If wolf teeth are present they should be extracted at this time.

2 to  4 Years Old

During the period between 2 and 4 years of age many dynamic changes are taking place. On the average horses shed 24 teeth and erupt between 36 and 44 teeth depending on sex. If the opposing cap does not shed naturally at the same time, the occlusional surfaces will be uneven causing problems in mastication If the decidous teeth do not properly shed they may also prevent the adult teeth to erupt or erupt in the wrong direction.

Retained 503 decidious tooth, note how the adult tooth 103 grew to the rear and does not align with the matching tooth below it.  This is why young horses should be checked atleast every 6 months until 5 years old.

5 Years and Up

At 5 years of age all decidious caps should have been shed and all the adult teeth are comming into complete occlusion. Once the adult teeth are in place, check ups every six months to a year should be performed. Adult teeth are softer in younger horses  than older horses. As the horse matures the teeth become harder.

General Eruption Schedule

Deciduous Teeth  (Baby)

#1 First Incisor      Birth to first week

#2 Second Incisor  4-6 weeks

#3 third incisor        6-9 months

#6 Second Premolar  Birth - first 2 weeks

#7 third Premolar        Birth to 1-2 weeks

#8 Forth Premolar      Birth to 1-2 weeks

Permanent Teeth (Adult)

#4 First premolar (Wolf Teeth) 6 to9 months

#9 First Molar                9-15 months

#1 First incisor             2 1/2 years

#6 Second premolar      2 1/2 years

#7 Third premolar        3 years

#10 Second Molar       2-3 years

#2   Second Incisor     3 1/2 years

#11 Third  Molar             3 1/2-4 years

#8 Forth Premolar          3 1/2 - 4 years

#3 Third Incisor               4 1/2 years

These are the approximate ages that these occur. Many different factors can affect these changes, such as breed. growth, development and nutrition to name a few.'

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.

Still have a question about your horses tooth, send a picture to us at;steve@equinedentalservices.com and we'll take a look at it and contact you. Without actually seeing the tooth it is difficult to answer your question.