Overbite/underbite

[gem74]

I bought a horse sight unseen that was described to me as "top show quality". The horse has very good breeding and is lovely looking hence I paid a fair bit of money. I have since been told that her slight overbite (almost a tooth depth 5-6mm) makes her virtually worthless :new_shocked: as she would not be placed in the showring and she shouldn't be bred from. Is this true?? Does a slight overbite really matter that much?

: I could understand if it affected their ability to eat etc.

 

[appypintolady]

I am going through the same thing, I just bought a horse as a broodmare sight unseen that has an underbite, I was also not told and I am very upset about it.. I do believe this would affect the horse in the show ring.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

If I understand correctly it does affect their ability to show in halter classes but is not a concern for performance but those more knowledgable than I will answer you.

 

[carlenehorse]

I would ask you vet sometimes their teeth just need to be floated. I am not saying that this is the case. My stallion's teeth went a little over and my vet floated his teeth and he is back to normal.

Good luck.

Carlene

 

[Courtney]

I'm new to minis, and while I've read about under/over bites, I've never seen pictures of what a mini that has one looks like. Why would it hamper their placings?

 

[kaykay]

keep in mind that halter class is to determine which horses are good enough to breed. An under or overbite is considered a very large fault. Most breeders will not breed a horse with a bad bite. So to show a horse in halter with an under or overbite will most likely get you the gate as this would not be considered a breeding quality horse.

I will say i have seen young horses bites go off and then come back on later. Normally a good equine dentist can tell if its temporary (while caps are coming off for instance) or if it is a misalignment of the jaw which will never correct.

 

[miniaddiction]

Hi Gem, Did you buy Summer Wine? How many mm would you say her bite was off? I really can see it preventing you from giveing her a chance in the ring. Especially if she is just a baby, you may not do really well as you had hoped but it would be a shame to flag it all together. Did you speak to the breeder about the problem?

 

[gem74]

KayKay - Fingers crossed thats all it is as she is only young. I am going to get a dentist in to have a look at her this week. It would be such a relief if it is just a temporary growing issue.

Mini addiction - Yes thats me But no I haven't said anything (was only told yesterday re showing issue) as I don't want to overreact unnecessarily. As said previously maybe she just needs a dentist

: It is about 5-6 mm under bite.

 

[nootka]

Have a dentist check it out. Is there any way you could have a look at sire and dam to see if there's a similar issue that could be congenital.

I myself would not breed a horse that has this problem. YES they will knock you down to the last placing for a bad bite (I have seen it again and again we showed a pet filly for a couple years in a couple classes for the heck of it as she loved showing evne though we never intended her to be bred she was still a jr. mare and we got the gate a LOT for it, though we made it in color a couple times).

It presents a lot of issues as to management and if it were bad enough, I would think it could interfere with bit wearing, though that is subjective and may be different for every horse. The dentist will help determine if you have a hereditary defect or something that can be managed with proper dentistry and may in fact be just fine otherwise. I would have the dentist look no matter what you decide, as it's possible that she's wearing her teeth badly and needs more frequent attention than the others, but they will also help w/your dilemma.

Liz M.

 

[disneyhorse]

An entire tooth depth to me is not ''slight''. Anything more than half a tooth's depth off is an ''off bite''

Generally horses with an off bite shouldn't be bred and most won't do well in halter, where the judge may ask to check bites.

In performance, bites are not checked and not as big an issue unless it interferres with the bit.

Andrea

 

[Sandee]

Like disneyhorse says more than 1/2 a tooth width is "off" and would likely keep you from halter classes in anything but a very small show. However, an off bite will not necessarily have any affect on driving. I know of at least one mare that has an off bite, yet her looks are supreme. I was told the bite went bad becasue her teeth were not taken care of when she was losing caps. Whatever the reason, she still drives very nicely. Teeth are not checked in any performance classes.

 

[Pandora]

Do they check teeth in "A"? There is only one judge I have ever seen check in "R" at the sanctioned shows around here. I heard they did not check teeth at R Nat'ls even though they are supposed to!!! I only show "R", that's why I'm asking. There is only one "A" show I have seen in my area.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

AMHR does not check teeth. AMHA checks teeth on mares and stallions only, BUT IMO a good judge should check on any horse, yeah I know thats not going to happen, but I would hate for a horse that had an bad bite place over mine in a halter class. Just because it has good conformation on the outside, doesn't mean it does on the inside. An overbite to me is a bad conformation fault. However also you need to know how this bite happened, whether its genetic, or an accident.

My filly has an underbite. Both parents have great bites. Got Gary Fleur too look at her and said it can be 10% passed on. Not huge, but still would have liked him to say 0% lol. Right now, she isn't for sell. Even though I had several people say they would like to buy her, but they won't take her until they realize she has an underbite. Thats just good business. Nothing yet has been done with her teeth. Will get it fixed though. Would like it to see it come back on its own, but I really doubt that.

My filly next year, still has the bad bite, won't be showing in halter but will in performance and color classes. If she still has the bad bite she won't be bred, but used as a good performance horse, just like anyother gelding only a mare.

 

[kaykay]

JMS i have shown in many AMHR shows where bites were checked.

 

[disneyhorse]

I also show AMHR only and have had teeth checked at many shows.

Andrea

 

[Magic]

I've also had many judges at many of the AMHR shows I've been to check teeth! I prefer them to do so-- good bites are EXTREMELY important for breeding animals.

:

 

[HGFarm]

The rule book states, I believe, that the bite can be half a bite off to show in halter. Performance horses are able to show with a bite more off.

We have an equine dentist that comes every year to check all the horses, regardless of age or whether their bite is off or not- we go through the whole herd, so even if they need nothing, at least they have been checked. Also, they may just need a floating to get rid of hooks!!

This does not mean their bite is bad!!!! Please have a qualified equine dentist look at your horse. They can tell if it is truly an off bite or if they have hooks or something else going on that needs fixed, as those things will MAKE the bite go off.

One of my mares had a perfect bite and then when off a wee bit- had the dentist take a look and she was developing hooks in back, which causes ridges in front, etc... and worsens the problem. A simple floating fixed the problem back to normal again.

Please give the horse a chance and just see if it might be a simple thing..........

 

[BallynoeBaby]

I have a mare with an over bite which when i started wiht miniatures i didn't think this was a problem but now i see that it can be important. Hulter class is all about looks and conformation, they want to best of the best. I know loads of brilliant thoroughbred race horses with under/over bites but because everything is about their proformance looks do not come into it. I believe that all judges should check teeth.

 

[Littleum]

Do they check teeth in "A"? There is only one judge I have ever seen check in "R" at the sanctioned shows around here. I heard they did not check teeth at R Nat'ls even though they are supposed to!!! I only show "R", that's why I'm asking. There is only one "A" show I have seen in my area.

AMHA checks teeth and you will be dismissed for an off bite.

AMHR I didn't know they even had the option of checking teeth? I've never seen teeth checked... not even at Nationals this year. If they have the option to check, will a horse with an off bite be dismissed or is it simply treated as a severe fault?

 

[kaykay]

HG i think you mean half a tooth off

not a half a bite