Like us, horses and ponies have a set of baby (deciduous) teeth that are replaced with adult (permanent) teeth as they age. The first teeth to be replaced are the middle four incisors, two at the top and two on the bottom.
Diva has just made this milestone with the loss of one of her top teeth. The remaining three of this set are all loose and looking rather wonky.
My pony’s cute little mouth is currently looking like she is in need of a set of braces to sort them out. Once they have succumbed and fallen out, I will have that neat mouth back albeit with slightly larger teeth.
The average age for this to happen is two and a half years old, so Diva is right on schedule. By the time the adult corner incisors have come through at roughly four and a half years old, all the teeth will have been replaced.
A horse’s age can be estimated by their teeth, and whilst the deciduous teeth are being shed is the easiest time to positively age them.
However, all horses are different. I have seen several posts on social media saying that someone bought a horse as a certain age only to have the equine dentist or vet estimate it to be younger. Not all these are necessarily cases of misleading the purchaser.
My homebred mare, Florence, fooled the vet when she was three and a half years old. Since she was just losing her centre incisors, her teeth were declaring her to be only two and a half. If I had not seen her moments after her birth, I would have been reassessing her age!
Your Equine Dental Technician or veterinary surgeon will refer to the teeth by numbers. I have attached a picture detailing this, so we know exactly which teeth they are talking about.
Unfortunately I didn’t find Diva’s tooth, so no Tooth Fairy money for her. She did, however, get a visit from a unicorn that cheered her up a bit!
We had another couple of busy weeks both with work and the horses – don’t know where the time has gone!
We managed to get two lessons in, one on each weekend for Bob. The first one was fantastic, we did some bounce fences (which yes I was worried he would revert back to his old ways and jump as a spread instead of a bounce – but luckily he didn’t!)
Now that Christmas and the New Year are behind us, along with the shortest day, it is time to start thinking ahead to sunny days and planning shows!
Upkeep of your horsebox is not only key to maintaining the safety of your vehicle but crucial to keeping your horses safe and sound. When it comes to horsebox maintenance, much of your focus should be on the floors and walls of your vehicle.
Owners need to check their horse’s health and wellbeing all year round, but winter can be an especially challenging time. From the cold unpredictable weather, to sparse fields and animals being more prone to illness, your horse will need more care and attention over the winter months.