Floating teeth & Dentistry

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kdhminis

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Hi!! What do you all do re floating teeth, etc. when you have a "herd" of horses
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Do you have every single mini's teeth floated every single year - or do you only do the ones that you see chewing tenderly, etc.? We have 7 horses (will be 9 in the spring) and the floating everyone gets very expensive. We usually do ours in October and are getting ready to set the appt tomorrow for Oct - and since last Oct we have added 3 minis!! Just curious how everyone else does it as some of you have way more horses/minis in your "herds" that we do - so far!
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Once a year for the whole herd (8) right now. Babies don't need it unless the vet sees an issue (she puts the speculum on them and feels around, but does that for free, unless they required work, which has never happened to date) 1 year olds don't typically need anything either, but the vet checks anyway just in case. Sometimes I hold out a little longer than 12 months, but typically I stay close to that mark. I do check bites regularly and if a mature horses bite suddenly startws going a bit off, I get them done even if it hasn't been a year. Driving horses sometimes need it more often.

Maybe see about trailering in half at a time to the vets office, you get out of the may get out of the call charge and can budget around the appointments.
 
The equine dentist comes about once a year, and she checks everyone to see who needs to be done. With 8 minis and 3 saddle horses, I pray it isn't all of them every year.
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All six of ours get done every year... so we end up shelling out $800 every year. Its part of owning horses, unfortunately. What really gets you are the vaccines! Have the vet do it in some states you could be paying $200+ per horse!
 
I have mine evaluated 2 times a year. Not everyone needs something done everytime. But my older mares need it at least once a year. If you have a vet or equine dentist you work with, they usually don't charge for the ones they just look at.
 
I do get mine done every year. However I split them up into groups. That way I get one group done a month and it is easier to swallow and the dentist can fit it into her schedule easier.

My dentist only charges $45 per horse.
 
Mine get done every year and the babies get checked.

This fall, we divided the herd in forths which equals 3 trips. It was a lot easier on the vet and me.
 
Sounds like everyone does what we do also - every year on every horse/mini!!! So we will continue!!!! I do not know how farms that have 20+ mini's does it cost wise with all the vaccines also that we all give every year, etc. It is a part of owning horses/mini's, let alone when something does go wrong - and if you own horses/mini's very long - something is bound to happen - I know we have been through a couple of things in the past years!!! The mini's are a blast though - and I can see how they are very addictive - and how you start with 3, then all of a sudden you have 5, then..........
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We love them!!!!!
 
We have an equine dentist that comes from out of state every year. I have my entire herd LOOKED at. He does not charge to look, and see if they need anything done. Many times, they dont need anything. If they need a floating, or a cap popped, or something, then he takes care of the ones that do need work while he is here. Out of my entire herd, I may only have a couple that actually need something, so it rotates, but I have them ALL checked every year.

I do not wait until they are wadding food, or losing weight because by the time they are that bad, there is a serious problem and the inside of their mouth probably looks like hamburger!! Or there is other problems, and if they cannot chew, they are not getting the nutrition they need either.

Just like hoof trimming, shots, worming and the other routine health care stuff, I think that the dental work is probably the most overlooked by many, and have purchased horses that have NEVER had their teeth looked at- and are usually a mess!

I don't wish my horses to have any pain, chewing problems or anything else because their teeth dont get checked, so it's annually for at least a look by the dentist for me!
 
When we lived in Michigan we took our horses to the dental school!! We only had to pay for sedation if it was needed!! It worked great. Unfortunately we have moved to Tennessee so we have to find someone that does it!! So far I have not had any luck finding someone on the west side of TN. We did break our herd up into halfs so it was easier to haul. So if you have a dental school in your state then that is always a option!!
 

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