Thoughts on bite

[Foxhaven]

Looking at horses, I am seeing some variation (and seeing a lot of opinions) on bite. One horse under consideration has what my vet describes as 4mm overbite. How much of a fault is that in a young (2yo) horse?

Some prefer a scissor bite, some prefer that much overbite because regardless of growth you won't get underbite.

This makes sense to me, and the bite seems quite functional. My experience with this comes more from the dog world though, so what say ye?

 

[ruffian]

Horse's teeth should meet, not scissor. Anything more than half a tooth off (front or back) is a major fault.

 

[Minimor]

Scissor bites are desired in some dog breeds--NEVER in horses. ^^ ruffians post is a good one!

 

[Foxhaven]

Well, 4mm is about half a tooth...

Looking forward to more feedback.

 

[disneyhorse]

Unlike dogs, horses' teeth grow continually all their lives and wear down. Uneven wear can cause a lot of sharp points and hooks which lead to ulcerations in the mouth and eventually loss of weight and condition.

A dog bites and crunches its food, it is a carnivore. A horse has to grind fiberous food, its an herbivore. It is thus far more important to have good bites on a horse.

Dogs and horses are extremely different, so you can't really compare their dentition.

Half a tooth off is "passable" but a perfect bite is desirable. An overbite can be just as destructive as an underbite, particularly if the horse has to graze or doesn't get regular dental floats.

Dogs need their teeth cleaned, but they never need the dental upkeep that a horse ideally should receive.

 

[little lady]

Just to add in a young horse-birth to about five they are get 24 permanent cheek teeth and their bite may change. So if a young horse(such as the one you describe) is off 4mm now, in a few months to a year that may change to be right on or get worse. Hence the reason for regular dental care.

 

[Foxhaven]

Yep, the youth of the horse is why the breeder prefers a *very slight* overbite. He has had several foals that, as they grow and mature, go from perfect bite to underbite to overbite and back again. Made it a bit unpredictable whether he was actually going to show the horse in any given month!

Just wondered how many have had similar experiences or slightly varying opinions.

Great place to learn!

 

[Lori W]

We had a filly born with a perfect bite then at about 3 months old, we noticed she now had an underbite. At that point - even in such a short amount of time - the bottom teeth had grown a short ridge in front because they weren't being worn down. Of course, we had the equine dentist out. After working on her, he was fairly confident that her teeth would normalize over time. And they did - over the course of a couple of months, the front teeth have moved forward to nearly meet properly and she is now well within the 'half a tooth-width' rule. We watch her closely and will continue to get her professional dental care as needed. She's a beautiful little one with nice conformation and a great show career in front of her - as long as we can keep her teeth within tolerance!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I don't prefer an over or under bite and I would not buy an animal with either if I were thinking of showing. It makes me smile when I see that so-and-so has bought a colt who will drop in the spring because he is just a late bloomer, or a colt with an over/under bite because he will come right as he gets his adult teeth. Unless it is guaranteed, in black and white, that this will happen, and if it does no the seller will, at their own expense, take him back and refund all money, I would walk away. Sorry.

 

[sfmini]

I agree with Jane. We only had one mini in almost thirty years of breeding that had a bite go off. When we sold her the bite was on, we took her back and her bite corrected itself. Turned out to be a very nice brood mare and her foals have perfect bites. We did have another we thought was going off but it turned out to be hooks in her back teeth. The bite was perfect once she was floated.

I would never buy a horse with a bite even slightly off no matter the age.

 

[JWC sr.]

Mini's have a propensity in getting hooks on the back teeth. This can easily cause the teeth to not meet properly till that is remedied by a good equine denist such as Carl whom we use.

Besides for that yes there can be a major change when permanets come in, but in a lot of cases you get exactly what you see with the permanets as it has to do in a lot of cases with the structue of the jaw, in relationship to the teeth. Once you let it go it usually will get worse with age also.

We have had a few over the years that went off as they aged and in every case we checked for hooks and found them, had the condition corrected and they went back to normal within a few weeks. good Luck!

 

[JWC sr.]

Mini's have a propensity in getting hooks on the back teeth. This can easily cause the teeth to not meet properly till that is remedied by a good equine denist such as Carl whom we use.

Besides for that yes there can be a major change when permanets come in, but in a lot of cases you get exactly what you see with the permanets as it has to do in a lot of cases with the structue of the jaw, in relationship to the teeth. Once you let it go it usually will get worse with age also.

We have had a few over the years that went off as they aged and in every case we checked for hooks and found them, had the condition corrected and they went back to normal within a few weeks. good Luck!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I am assuming, however, that, as a responsible breeder you would not be expecting someone to merely take your word for this, but, were you to be selling a young animal as a potential show animal , with an off bite, you would be offering some sort of guarantee?