My horse has always been really good for having his teeth floated but this summer my vet was unable to float the right side. Her recommendation was to try again in a couple months so we did that and he still wouldn’t let her do do the right side it so we are getting x-rays in the week. My horse is eating normally and not losing weight but I’m concerned about what is bothering him. Has anybody had any experience with teeth extraction?
Thank you in advance!
My mare was out in a field situation and we thought she was eating every day because she was standing at the hay rack. This was right after I gave birth so I had not been out in like a month and she seemed happy until she got tangled in her sheet laying down one day. The bo took them off of her and she had lost a ton of weight! She ended up having abscessed teeth and the vet pulled four of them which was about all she had left. She was right as rain within a week and went on to be my toothless wonder mare living on Mash from Nutrena senior, beet pulp pellets and Timothy Alfalfa pellets for the next 5 1/2 years until she passed away from a stifle issue.
The vet knew right away that she had abcessed teeth by the smell, have you stuck your nose basically right next to your horses mouth lately or open their mouth and get a good whiff lol!! That will give you a clue, hopefully you wont have to have extractions though, good luck!
My horse has had two extractions. One was an extra tooth that was growing in the front with his incisors. It was very small but was making a red mark on his upper gum and slowly pushing the other teeth, so the dentist removed it.
His other extraction was his lower right canine. He (at some point) cracked it deep underneath the surface and it got infected. He never really showed any symptoms, but when the dentist opened up his mouth he could squeeze pus from around the base of the tooth and it really smelled. I felt like a horrible owner for missing it, but it would be almost impossible to see without cranking his mouth open and looking with a flashlight.
It took a lot of sedation and a lot of sweat to get that tooth out (the canine is a difficult tooth removed because it’s curved into the jaw bone.) Once it was removed, he was on SMZs for 3-4 weeks with daily tooth hole flushings. I used a very diluted betadine mix (diluted with warm water.) I had a big dosing syringe with a long soft plastic tip so I could really get into the hole and flush it clean. I would push his lips open and hold his jaw, flush a few times with the mixture, then flush a few times with plain warm water. I did this 1x/day for about a month.
Their mouths heal really fast. The hole went from a deep ragged cavernous pit to being filled in, flat, and healthy pink by the end of his treatment. I took photos every couple days and sent them to his dentist to make sure it was healing correctly. This was maybe 3-4 years ago, and he’s had no issues since.
It can be stressful to watch as an owner because there’s a lot of cranking/pulling/etc. just a heads up! They are fine, but it can be nerve wracking to witness.
My senior had 12 incisors extracted due to EOTRH. The vet told me it would be harder on my than him, and she was totally right. He had it done under heavy standing sedation and a nerve block at the hospital and was home the same day. Healed up quickly and without incident and is doing great. Best of luck with your horse!
Thank you guys so much for the replies! I do not think that he has bad breath but the tooth that we’re looking at is way back in his cheek. We can’t see anything obvious but he won’t let us near it with sedationSo we think somethings bothering him. My vet is only a general that so I had to give me a referral to get the x-rays as there are limited options where we are located.
I also had a horse who had all his upper and lower incisors extracted. They did upper first, and two weeks later the bottoms. He did okay after the first procedure, but he had stayed overnight and pain was under control. The second procedure they sent him home same day and he later colicked. He did get through it but it was tough on me. Two weeks of antibiotics and some bute for the first few days after each, plus twice a day flushing with a special oral solution. Horse eventually healed and did fine eating grass and hay with his gums. His tongue often slid through and it was quite adorable I must admit. He has since passed.
My friends horse just had a huge impacted molar out about two weeks ago. It took a few hours for it and they had to repeatedly give him extra sedation. He was also on antibiotics for two weeks and bute for a few days. He seems to be doing well and eating and acting normally.
I will agree it’s harder on us. Horses just seem to take things I stride much better than we do.
I have two older horses who are missing two teeth each. Their extractions were relatively quick and easy since they were so old and with so little root left. Horses never missed a beat.
My 25 year old had two molars and all of his incisors extracted due to EOTRH. After his initial healing period was over, he has been fine eating ever since. He has gained a ton of weight. He gets alfalfa hay twice a day and we do have to “unflake” it for him because its so compressed, but he eats off a round bale just fine and has no problems with grain.
My old mare had one molar extracted at 21 under standing sedation. She dropped a ton of weight in two weeks during some crazy winter weather, so we had the vet out, and she had somehow cracked a molar completely in half. Got lucky and there was no infection. She healed up just fine and the weight came right back once she was chewing properly again.
We soaked her grain for about six months after that and slowly transitioned her back to dry pellets, which she tolerated fine - regular hay was fine throughout.
My 16 year old mare had two molars extracted this summer. One had gone bad, things got infected, and tough little cookie that she is, she never missed a meal. I didn’t catch it until the osteomyelitis caused enough remodeling of her jaw that she developed an obvious lump on her mandible. (I was very happy the diagnosis wasn’t cancer!)
The extraction was done at the local vet school, under standing sedation. She healed right up, with the biggest issue being her rapidly waning tolerance of being dosed with antibiotics. So far, it seems that her ability to chew hay is unaffected, though she’s never been a big hay eater.
Thank you all very much I really appreciate hearing your experiences. I am a little nervous because his sore spot is up in the cheek I think that might be a harder place to get at. No obvious lumps no obvious swelling just that he wouldn’t let my near it and she tried to float him. My vets done his teeth every year for the last 10 years and he’s always been super easy to float until this past summer. his appointment is on Friday.
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