Rural Veterinary Services provides full equine dental services, either at the clinic, or as a farm visit. Our main clinic is equipped with a horse crush, and day-stay yards, to allow for safe and effective equine care. We are also equipped with the latest and greatest equine dentistry equipment, facilitating the very best of equine dental care. Our veterinarians have undergone advanced training in this area, having attending post-graduate courses in equine dentistry, and being trained by equine dental specialists.
Why does my horse need a dental?
A horse's teeth have long crowns that continue to wear and erupt over time. Diet and lifestyle can cause a horse's teeth to develop sharp points, which can cut the horse's cheeks and cause pain during chewing or riding. Signs that your horse may be suffering these, or other dental disease issues include spilling feed, drooling, eating slowly, tossing the head or tilting the head while eating or being ridden, or chewing the bit.
Eventually poor dental care can result in impaction colics, as the horse doesn’t digest its feed properly. It can also result in weight loss.
It is recommended that all horses receive regular dentals on at least an annual basis, in order to prevent problems from occurring. This should be part of every horse owner's regular horse health management protocol—just like worming and vaccination. As horses age, they may need more regular dental checks, as they become more prone to developing issues resulting from improper wearing of teeth, or as they begin to lose teeth due to ending their dental life.