In order to dispell their feed horses must first pick it up (prehension, done by the lips and front teeth) and chew it (mastication, done by the back teeth). Any question with whether of these steps affects the efficiency of the entire process. To use an analogy cars in a queue can only go as fast as the slowest spirited car.
But speed is not the only issue here in order for permissible digestion to occur feed must be reduced to a inevitable size before reaching the gut, food that is not reduced adequate will not be properly digested and will be passed out in to the paddock.
Figure 1 Long stems in Faeces due to poor digestion
The health of the cheek teeth of a horse determines this size. The discount in absorption of feed can be as much as thirty percent.
Figure 2 Horse spilling feed due to dental disease
So for this intuit alone it is vitally foremost that all horses receive quarterly pro dental exams and treatment.
So what affects these two steps and what can be done about it?
Four things commonly sway prehension and mastication
Pain any question in the horse's mouth that causes pain will lead them to alter the way they eat and the speed at which they eat
Trauma As you are no doubt aware horses love to hurt themselves and other horses and the mouth is no distinct from any other part of the body, horse's frequently injure their teeth, tongue, skull and gums.
Disease Diseases of the mouth such as gingivitis and periodontal disease are common in the horse and if untreated lead to premature loss of teeth and the potential for diseases of the vital organs such as the heart and kidneys.
Genetic disorders some genetic disorders occur commonly in the horse, the most common being parrot mouth or an underbite if left untreated parrot mouth leads to alterations in the wear of the back teeth and thus problems with both prehension and mastication.
Entire chapters of text books have been written on each of the headings above so obviously there are a lot of details that we don't have room to cover here but I will give a brief shape of some the conditions that occur.
There are numerous sources of pain in the horse's mouth. Some of the more common ones include ulcers to the cheeks and tongue caused by sharp enamel points, incorrect use of the bit, gingivitis and periodontal disease, fractures or loose teeth, bit palpate with wolf teeth, impacted teeth and lacerations to the tongue.
Figure 3 Severe cuts to cheek from the bit
There is not adequate room to cover the treatment of these conditions, but what is considerable is a proper exam of the whole horse. Followed by an external exam of the head and then a perfect oral exam with a good light source, a full mouth speculum, a mirror and probe and possibly other tools such as x-rays. Only then can a analysis be made and treatment started.
Trauma can basically be divided into modern and long term as well as major and minor, modern trauma can often be treated while long term trauma is usually managed.
Major trauma may need immediate surgical operation while minor trauma might be treated with pain relief and monitoring. Examples of major trauma include jaw fractures, avulsion of teeth and severe cuts to the tongue or cheeks. Minor trauma includes bumps and scratches and chipping of teeth
Some oral diseases are highly common such as periodontal disease (disease of the structures anchoring the tooth) while others like neoplasia (cancer) are relatively rare, however none can be diagnosed and treated without a permissible oral exam.
Genetic disorders like parrot mouth can often be corrected and certainly need to be managed throughout a horse's life, but need a analysis at or soon after birth for the best outcome. So dental checks for foals are recommended.
With the current high feed prices and the severe pain and suffering caused to horse's through dental conditions I encourage all horse owners to take accountability to ensure their horse's receive the best potential dental care and articulate optimal digestive function.
For added information please palpate the Equine Veterinary connection at eva.org.au
The American connection of Equine Practitioners at Aaep.org
And the horse magazine at thehorse.com
Jaw Reduction Surgery:Equine Dentistry For cusine
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