This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) Since my wife Barbara keeps accusing me of having a simple mind (she's joking, I think.....), let me prove her right by adding to Marsha Jo Hannah's good but possibly-too-technical-for-new-horse-owners answer to Carol's wolf teeth question. I don't mean Carol, because she's not new to horses, but some others on the list are. Many of our veterinary clients are new to horses, so I tend to think in terms that new horse owners will understand.
You do not see the wolf teeth when your horse opens its mouth. What you see there is incisors and maybe canines. To see wolf teeth you have to open your horses mouth and look back in there just in front of the first upper premolar. If you're not experienced at that, it's better not to try it yourself; A horse has been known to break a man's ARM by chomping on it, so one little misplaced finger of yours would not even be noticed as it was crunched! That's not to discourage you from at some point being able to look in a horse's mouth for wolf teeth, but it's best to let your veterinarian or someone who has had some experience show you how to do it. A wolf tooth is often the size of a piece of candy corn or smaller, but only the tip (the white part of the candy corn) is visible protruding from the gum. As Marsha Jo mentioned, usually the only time the wolf teeth cause "trouble" is when the bit is pressing against them and causing discomfort. Some owners, trainers, and veterinarians routinely just want them removed when the horse is ready to be started in training to ride. Others only have them removed if the horse seems to be resenting the bit and different bits have been tried and did not help. Not uncommonly, a horse will be blamed for having an attitude problem when it is actually an ill-fitting bit or wolf teeth that hurt. Also, visa versa, wolf teeth have been blamed when it is really an attitude problem. It is fairly easy to tell the difference by removing the wolf teeth and letting the gums heal, and then trying the bit again. A closing thought: If your horse is at a trainer's and he/she says they "will take care of it" (getting the wolf teeth removed), you might want to find out exactly what is meant by that. Some trainers do it themselves or have a "backyard vet" (not really a vet) do it. Since they are probably not going to sedate your Fjord or give him/her a tetanus booster, and since their "instrument" is usually a dirty screwdriver, it would probably behoove you to let your veterinarian do it. Don't really mean to make you nervous or suspicious; This doesn't happen as often as it used to. But we still do see it sometimes. Brian Jacobsen, DVM Norwegian Fjordhest Ranch Salisbury, North Carolina _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
