Calico
Member
I had a big scare a couple of weeks ago when I went out to check on my mini in the evening and found that one of his front teeth was "broken" off! It was 6:00 on a sunday, so I couldn't call the vet. He didn't seem to be in any pain and was eating like normal, but as a fairly new horse owner, I was horrified! I decided I'd call the vet first thing in the morning, and in the meantime, went online to try to find out what kinds of things could possibly cause a horse to break a tooth like that.
That's when I learned about horses' baby teeth My mini, Caspian, is about 2 1/2, so it made sense. I did call the vet the next morning anyway, and he agreed that it sounded just like normal baby tooth loss.
It's been about two weeks since then, and Caspian has now lost both bottom front teeth and one top tooth. He still seems to be doing fine. My question is, is there anything special I should be doing or anything in particular I should watch out for? Usually I give him his hay by filling a Busy Snacker, and also giving him an additional 2/3 to 1 flake just loose in a rubber tub, so that way he has loose hay he doesn't have to work for, and the Busy Snacker for if he runs out between feedings or gets bored. Since he started losing teeth, I've upped the amount of loose hay he has, but that's about the only change I've made (aside from also checking his mouth every day.) Is there anything else I should be doing? How long does it usually take for the new teeth to grow in all the way?
I have another question that's unrelated, but that I didn't want to make a separate thread for. Caspian is on a dry lot. Here in California, we're in the middle of an exceptionally dry winter, but we did get a rain a few weeks ago that started some grass growing on the hill outside his pen. It's about 4-6 inches tall and is just random native grass. Is it okay to let him out on a lead to graze for 10 or 15 minutes once a week or so? I know one has to be careful with minis and grazing, but I'd love to be able to let him out every once in a while.
Thanks in advance!
That's when I learned about horses' baby teeth My mini, Caspian, is about 2 1/2, so it made sense. I did call the vet the next morning anyway, and he agreed that it sounded just like normal baby tooth loss.
It's been about two weeks since then, and Caspian has now lost both bottom front teeth and one top tooth. He still seems to be doing fine. My question is, is there anything special I should be doing or anything in particular I should watch out for? Usually I give him his hay by filling a Busy Snacker, and also giving him an additional 2/3 to 1 flake just loose in a rubber tub, so that way he has loose hay he doesn't have to work for, and the Busy Snacker for if he runs out between feedings or gets bored. Since he started losing teeth, I've upped the amount of loose hay he has, but that's about the only change I've made (aside from also checking his mouth every day.) Is there anything else I should be doing? How long does it usually take for the new teeth to grow in all the way?
I have another question that's unrelated, but that I didn't want to make a separate thread for. Caspian is on a dry lot. Here in California, we're in the middle of an exceptionally dry winter, but we did get a rain a few weeks ago that started some grass growing on the hill outside his pen. It's about 4-6 inches tall and is just random native grass. Is it okay to let him out on a lead to graze for 10 or 15 minutes once a week or so? I know one has to be careful with minis and grazing, but I'd love to be able to let him out every once in a while.
Thanks in advance!