We've discussed farrier charges...now

[nootka]

What do you pay for dentistry for your minis?

I had six minis done in '02, and it was about $1200.

The person doing it is a veterinarian that also specializes in equine teeth, so that is a bonus. However!

I don't know about all of you, but I can't afford to pay that per year, it is just not in the budget.

And so I am looking at what others pay and how you budget for it. I guess I could do a couple less shows, but I think I would rather cut down the number of horses since that will also keep the bill down!

I am guessing that I am being charged about $200 per horse. Ouch.

I paid $50 or so w/another vet back in 2000.

Thanks for your input!

Liz M.

 

[justaboutgeese]

well thus far I have spent nil on dentistry. Our dental specialist looked at the first two we got and said they looked fine and should not need attention for quite some time. He said he will check them again when they hit six or seven. They were long two year olds at the time. When we got the second two (full brothers to the first two) same thing. Our dental specialist is also our vet. There are three full time vets and one part time at the clinic but only one does all of the dental work. We have a dear friend who has some horses that are fairly young yet that have had numerous visits for teeth work. They do not use the same vet and have another person who comes twice a year for the dental work. With their twenty odd horses that must be a chunk of change.

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

We've been quoted $50.00 for UCDavis students to do the dentistry with a vet supervising - basic floating, nothing advanced to a high of $250 at Loomis Basin (another EQ hospital), with the horse knocked out and the dentist using power floats.

I had planned on getting all of our horses done this year, but with our vet bills we've had - only two have been done so far!

 

[CKC]

We are charged $75 per horse by the dentist and then we pay the vet a farm charge which is about $35 and tranq. fees for each horse $20.

$130 per horse

It was really nice when Carl Mitz came here. He didn't tranq. It was so much better for the horses. He did such a great job.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

$65 and he was wonderful. Explained everything, no drugs or twitches. Lots of love and talking. Brought a helper to fetch things as he may need them. Tools all in novalscan (I assume ) in a bucket and cleaned after each horse as were his hands. He used a nice rubber thingy to keep their mouths open comfortabley. The babies were free as he really just pretended to get them introduced. My old girl Keesha, had awful ramps and he had to nip them and very carefully file them down with a tiny file as her teeth "moved" when he filed. He informed me that too much movement creates irritation which could manifest into an absess. He popped a couple caps off one and said call me in 2 yrs. I loved him. He was slow with them and gave lots of praise and encouragement to me and the minis. Worth every penny.

 

[Karen S]

Hi Nootka,

All of our horses are done each year in June. Depending on the amount of work that has to be done I can pay anywhere from $50 to $100 per horse. My dental bill this year for 10 horses was $600 mostly because we are now on a maintance schedule (have been for three years) and their teeth are wearing evenly with minimal hooks and waves. Young horses (yearlings to five years old) are still shedding caps, so during this time, which is the most critical time in your horses life to be sure their mouth is taken care of. Most of your mouth problems (those that are not heritary, parrot and monkey mouth) can be corrected if taken care of from time they are yearlings till they reach their fifth birthday. After they are five years old then they are through shedding their teeth and you should be down to just a yearly checkup just like we humans get.

Wolf teeth are extracted, a bit seat is put on those driving horses (to eliminate problems with driving bits), cavaties taken care of and many more overall health problems (weight loss or not gaining weight is one indicator) would be eliminated or taken care of if people would just take care of their horses teeth.

Denistry is part of your overall health maintance of your horses just like worming, vaccinating, and farrier work. I'm a firm believer in it and my horses thank me for it and it shows.

Karen Shaw

Fiddlestix Miniatures & Shetlands

Burleson Texas

 

[Margaret]

When I sold my stallion the vets came out to give the coggins and I asked them to check out his mouth to see how his teeth looked..( I had found some teeth in his water bucket and was just curious if all was ok ) They looked in his mouth, and told me that it was normal at his age, and he did "not nessarily need a float", but could "benifit" from one...at 175....

His new owner, (out of state) none the less opted to pass, as her expences were allready up there, and said that she could have that done at her place, if she decided...

 

[nootka]

Thanks, everyone, for your input, so far.

I am a firm believer in caring for their teeth, don't get me wrong, it's just hard for me to get that much money put aside (and I know the costs could go higher if there was more work) each year.

($200)

My regular vet doesn't have the tools or expertise to take care of it, at least not for my little horses, and he refers me to a dentist every time there is more than just a little touching up to do.

I don't know of too many dentists in the area, so I will have to make do with what I have, but ouch!

Liz M.

 

[chandab]

I had an equine dentist out this spring and she checked all 7 of my horses, the two minis are young so required no work (no charge). She does mildly sedate the horses, I don't recall which sedative, but it just relaxes them (it's expensive). Anyway, it was about $80/head for the basic float, plus one needed wolf teeth removal ($30.00) and she clipped my senior gelding's canines ($20). So less than $500 for 5 horses. She came highly recommended by a friend and I would definitely recommended her to others.

 

[qtrmoonfarm]

We were just discussing and cussing this very subject Liz..here we pay the vet to power float, if any have to be done bewteen Carl visits...they won't do them by hand as it takes too long they say, with our herd..keeps them from other client appointments?? Ended up about $125 + per horse..Carl Mitz will be here in 3-4 days YIPPEE...we do them all every year..at least looked at to see if anything needs to be done, 2 older gals every 6 months...it's an investment in our investment we feel, but never the less tough to write that check out

 

[runamuk]

Might want to check into a woman who is a vet but all she does is dentistry now.....

I had her work on my mare when she was 2 as she was retaining caps and had a chronic snot nose that didn't respond to any treatment along with huge tooth bumps.......this vet extraced several caps, used a dremel to create a bit seat, and floated .....we did use a little rompum .........total bill was 125....she is great and travels all over the northwest she was based out of ellensburg WA...Dr. Zamzow I believe was her name........I know she kept plenty busy and had tools that were suitable for mini's and ponies......

 

[Shari]

Think I talked to the same Dentist. I need to have the two bigger horses checked, was quoted $250.00 each if it was just an average job, plus service call fee of some such. Nice polite folks, but sure can't afford that right now.

I do not ride with bits in their mouths, and they are acting fine..so I will wait a bit.

 

[Candleliteranch]

My regular vet referred us to an equine dentist. He was super with the horses, didn't need sedatives and charges $35/horse with a discount on multiple horses. And no farm call fee!

 

[Littleum]

$65 for the last one, which I consider to be a bit steep for what was done......although technically still nothing, because I have yet to pay the bill.

It took the doc 8 months to send me the bill. So it will take me 8 months to send him a check. I figure I'll "remember" to send the check in April of '06 or so.