Title says it all. Vet came out and just happened to look at her mouth. I jokingly mentioned braces and she actually agreed! What?? Are you kidding me??is this a thing to be concerned about? I’ve known parrot mouthed horses before and they seemed to be just fine, so give me your opinions. I’m not super likely to do braces unless the need can absolutely be proven to me.TIA
It is not just “braces”, it is a painful procedure or series of them.
Here is some good info: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?150483-Foal-with-parrot-mouth
And per pintofoal: I’ve only ever had one parrot mouth foal born here and the cruelest thing I have ever done to a foal was trying to “fix” her parrot mouth with the braces – seemed like a good solution/idea when the vets talked us into it. and braces well that sound just fine, heck I had them as a kid. I have never been so grossed out and sickened by what was done. the filly had a twisted wire drilled into her bone that dug into her gums and jaw it was just horrible, it stunk like a dead animal made her whole mouth swell and bleed. I had it removed within two weeks I couldn’t stand it anymore. It was done by Marion Dupont Equine Hospital, so not some off the cuff job. I’d take a severe parrot mouth over that treatment again any day.
There is details of the procedure and pics here: http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/aaepfocus/2006/easley1.pdf?origin=publication_detail
It is not just “braces”, it is a painful procedure or series of them.
Here is some good info: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/sh...h-parrot-mouth
And per pintofoal: I’ve only ever had one parrot mouth foal born here and the cruelest thing I have ever done to a foal was trying to “fix” her parrot mouth with the braces – seemed like a good solution/idea when the vets talked us into it. and braces well that sound just fine, heck I had them as a kid. I have never been so grossed out and sickened by what was done. the filly had a twisted wire drilled into her bone that dug into her gums and jaw it was just horrible, it stunk like a dead animal made her whole mouth swell and bleed. I had it removed within two weeks I couldn’t stand it anymore. It was done by Marion Dupont Equine Hospital, so not some off the cuff job. I’d take a severe parrot mouth over that treatment again any day.
There is details of the procedure and pics here: http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/aaep...ication_detail
I am sure there are severe cases that surgery is the only option.
My 4 yo has a parrot mouth and aside from being difficult to float because it is hard for the speculum to stay on there right (easy to slip off the front teeth), he is just fine. Never heard of horse “braces”.
I wouldn’t worry about it, I know a big WB gelding with a horrible over bite and he eats just fine. Holds his weight good on pasture and is generally a normal horse. He just needs his teeth looked at and floated a little more often than normal horses.
[QUOTE=Rozlyn14;8215663]
I wouldn’t worry about it, I know a big WB gelding with a horrible over bite and he eats just fine. Holds his weight good on pasture and is generally a normal horse. He just needs his teeth looked at and floated a little more often than normal horses.[/QUOTE]
This.
I’ve got one who is twenty with a pretty bad parrot mouth. He does fine, no problems at all.
Babies faces change a lot as they grow - you might be surprized.
I bought a young horse that had a parrot mouth and with regular dental work he was just a normal horse. It would be considered a fault in a breeding stallion.
The way horses are kept these days means they do not have to rely on their front teeth pulling forage as might be the case with a wild horse, and natural selection would take its course. In most cases a parrot mouth does not stop them puling forage anyway. You can implement management procedures that help him out if he has any difficulties.
Unless he is an extreme case, I would not worry about it. You can get a secondary opinion from an expert.
A dentist once told me the “natural” cure for parrot mouth in a youngster is to always feed them off the ground. Not sure how factual that is, but it’s certainly easy enough to do…
Well, you have all pretty much said what I was thinking. Sheesh! Sometimes I get really aggravated at how quickly vets want to get in there and fix it. Not always the best plan, but then again, I am a very cautious person. I think we will wait and see how this unfolds a little. After reading about some other cases, I realize hers is very very minor, maybe 1 or 1.5 cm at most.
I wouldn’t worry about a minor situation. I too knew of horse braces. I have a dental phobia and after reading articles in a magazine and viewing the photos I agree with the poster that let her vet attempt it.
It looked pretty barbaric to me AND painful! :eek:
