Mini. horse teeth

[nicmac74]

My little gelding just had his teeth floated for the first time a few weeks ago. (first time in his life, the previous owners had never floated him). The vet said he had four caps and his babay teeth were still coming in. She said they were pretty bad so...I noticed he had a hard time biting(apples..not me!! lol.) and peeked in his mouth - 2 of his upper front teeth seem to be just nubs..the rest are fine. Are there new teeth coming in at three years old?

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Minis IME, tend to be a bit behind Big Horses...so, Yes, if your chap is two coming three the first set of teeth is shifted then, normally, but I have had them shift as late as five...although that horse did shift ALL the teeth ( and looked all gappy for a while!!) together, the next set will shift between three and four, and then the last set between four and five, they shift in sets of four, two up, two down, starting with the middle four and working outwards.

At the same time the back teeth will also be shifting, and these are the ones that can give real trouble, so if you are experiencing problems do keep a close eye on the teeth, it is a good idea to teach your boy to allow you to examine them, and it is quite hard to do this, wear, strong leather work gloves and be very patient, or you will get bitten!!!

 

[Dona]

YES.....they certainly CAN be coming in at age 3.

That is quite normal for minis. Rabbitfizz gave you very good advice.

 

[nicmac74]

I love that you said "chap"!!I was born in Tunbridgewells and went to school in Australia & NZ. Thank you for the detailed advice. I have been keeping a close eye on his mouth. I noticed that my little mare has bloody smears on her where Scampy has been grooming her (lots of mutual grooming sessions here!). I had a look this morning at his mouth- now one of his bottom front teeth has broken in half and is gangling along with a chunk of gum. I guess it too could be another cap coming off but the gum part looks sore. I know mouths heal up very quickly and usually very well. I am not sure what to do. I can have the vet out, I suppose. He does not seem to be in pain but it is probably hard for him to eat. I have been giving him well soaked hay cubes and Omolene 200 and some very very soft nice Orchard hay.

Minis IME, tend to be a bit behind Big Horses...so, Yes, if your chap is two coming three the first set of teeth is shifted then, normally, but I have had them shift as late as five...although that horse did shift ALL the teeth ( and looked all gappy for a while!!) together, the next set will shift between three and four, and then the last set between four and five, they shift in sets of four, two up, two down, starting with the middle four and working outwards.At the same time the back teeth will also be shifting, and these are the ones that can give real trouble, so if you are experiencing problems do keep a close eye on the teeth, it is a good idea to teach your boy to allow you to examine them, and it is quite hard to do this, wear, strong leather work gloves and be very patient, or you will get bitten!!!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

This is normal.

Baby teeth do not have the roots that adult teeth have, which is why it looks as if the tooth has broken, it has not, that is all the tooth there is, that is why the Vet called them "caps" (although I only use that term for back teeth, it is correct)

The blood is normal, too.

Just keep an eye on it all and then you will have points of reference for when it happens next.

 

[SaddleTrail]

Im glad I read this post. Shotgun isn't having troubles but Ive noticed he does have what is called wolf teeth on either side. One looks like it is red, not swollen but just red and may be a bit sore. The other side is normal. I can't afford to have him gelded and his teeth floated all at the same time. I feel his teeth are more important to have done. Am I right?

 

[Minimor]

SaddleTrail--are you certain it is wolf teeth and not canines? Just wondering, because wolf teeth are hard to see--at least I always find them so--they are the little teeth that grow (on some horses, not all) just in front of the first molar on the top jaw--quite honestly on some of mine I would not be able to say if they are or are not red/sore. Generally wolf teeth are not a problem if you are not going to be putting a bit on the horse.

Canines are the full size teeth that grow in the gap between the front teeth & the molars. Canines generally get left alone unless they are especially long or sharp, then they may be snipped off--I've never had any I needed to have snipped off.

The wolf teeth--my vet charges $15 to pull the wolf teeth while the horse is "out" for the gelding procedure. Very affordable!

If Shotgun has teeth issues that need to be taken care of then yes, that would probably be more important than gelding if you can afford to have only one thing done.

 

[nicmac74]

Update!I just noticed Scampy's lower front tooth dangling by a chunk of gum. yikes!

It looks like half of the tooth is still there. I know mouths heal up super fast and maybe he is just losing another cap. I will keep an eye on it. It must be painful..all these teeth eruptions!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

It is not half a tooth.

It is the new tooth pushing the stump of the old one out.

 

[HGFarm]

Most of mine have started shedding caps at two, but I am glad you had his teeth floated and looked at. Mine are looked at annually to see if they need anything, and if they don't, then thats great.

Sounds like he is shedding his caps ok- never fear, the others are growing in behind as Rabbits said. I have heard of some whose caps dont shed, and it creates other problems with them then... have seen a couple with a couple of rows of teeth!!! When the equine dentist comes, usually several farms have horses in one place for him to work on and it is very educational and interesting! I have learned a lot about mini teeth from watching him and listening to him as he goes.

 

[nicmac74]

Hmm..this is all very interesting!I, too, love watching the equine dentist at work. You learn so much!I have not had a horse this young before so this is a new issue for me. I also have not owned mini's before and I know they are prone to dental issues, amongst other things. Trying to squeeze all those teeth into such a small mouth..I am not surprised!

I think I will have Scampy checked again in another 6 months and then go to yearly checks. My 6 year old mare is fine just with a regular float every 12 months. Guess Scampy is young and things are just erupting!Poor darling. Thank you for putting my mind at rest.

Most of mine have started shedding caps at two, but I am glad you had his teeth floated and looked at. Mine are looked at annually to see if they need anything, and if they don't, then thats great.
Sounds like he is shedding his caps ok- never fear, the others are growing in behind as Rabbits said. I have heard of some whose caps dont shed, and it creates other problems with them then... have seen a couple with a couple of rows of teeth!!! When the equine dentist comes, usually several farms have horses in one place for him to work on and it is very educational and interesting! I have learned a lot about mini teeth from watching him and listening to him as he goes.

 

[shelly]

I happened to glance in my 3 yr. old stallions mouth tonight and was surprised to see he had lost another cap...I thought he was done, but I guess not! I'm sure my mare needs her teeth floated as she is 5 and has never had them done that I know of! She is preggo right now, so it will have to wait until after she weans the little begger next spring.