Off bites in young horses

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MiniWrangler

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Messages
96
Reaction score
0
Location
Southern Missouri
Just wondering if it is pretty normal for a young horse (as in weanling and a little older) to go through a stage where they have an off bite as they grow? Not a terribly bad one, but say if it is just a little bit off. How often does this correct itself (assuming they get UTD dental care)? I know there are probably several factors that could change the outcome...but what have been your experiences with this? Would YOU buy a young horse like this who is otherwise correct?

Looking forward to your opinions....thanks in advance!
saludando.gif
 
Did you see the bite on both parents? Also Is the bite slightly over or under? could you slide a coin between top and bottom teeth when closed... Or is it not that much? All things I would consider..
 
This would be assuming that both parents had good bites, and the horse in question stuck out just a bit farther on bottom.
 
Most (not all) horses that I have seen with bites a little off, can be taken care of with dentistry. I just had 2 done today, bites weren't off yet, but might have been if I had let them go. If I liked everything else, I would probably purchase. You can usually tell if a horse has uneven teeth.

Pam
 
Providing both parents have a perfect bite and I could not slip a coin between the sets of teeth, I would take a chance on it straightening out in time,_ if he had that "something special" that I was looking for. .. Although I would prefer that he had a perfect bite. But I have heard over and over that this is typical and can be normal in growing babies.. That the bite can go off a little and then back on again, as they grow.
 
I have a yearling that as a weanling would have a perfect bite one week and then off the next week, then perfect again. Her teeth only went off by 1/8" tho, not a tooth width or anywhere near that amount. If i noticed more than that I would see what the equine dentist felt was the problem. I would not, in general, buy a horse with teeth not perfect.

jennifer
saludando.gif
 

Latest posts

Back
Top