Equine Teeth

Caring for a Polo Pony's Teeth

Routine dental care is important to the development of healthy polo ponies. A healthy mouth helps prevent digestive problems such as colic and weight loss.

The performance and temperament of a polo pony is affected by the quality of its teeth as they relate to the bit.

Signs of Equine Dental Disease

Idle Horse	Under Saddle
Loss of food when chewing Inefficient chewing Excessive salivation Weight loss/rough hair Foul odor - mouth/nostrils Head tilted Head shaking Cheek sensitivity Pain when drinking water Bleeding mouth	Poor performance Sensitivity to bit Head throwing Bracing against bit Tail wringing Refusal to stop/turn Unwilling to collect Poor head carriage

Terminology

arcades	rows of teeth
bars	the open, or interdental, spaces on the jaws between the incisors and cheek teeth where the bit sits
canine teeth	small pointed teeth that grow in the interdental space near the corner incisors, they are also called "tusks"
cap	a remnant of a deciduous tooth that can persist atop a permanent tooth
deciduous	teeth which shed at a natural stage of life, like human "baby" teeth
floating	filing down sharp edges on a horse's molars using a long handled rasp called a "float"
Galvayne's Groove	a stained vertical furrow that first appears at the gum line of the upper incisors when a horse is about 10 years old
hook	a point or peak on a tooth's chewing surface that is developed through abnormal wear
incisors	the six front top teeth and the six front bottom teeth, used for cutting and nipping rather than grinding
molars	the 24 grinding teeth located along the jaws, used for crushing feed, they are also called cheek teeth
occlusion	surface contact of normally aligned opposing teeth
Wolf Tooth	one of up to four rudimentary teeth in front of the first molars

Equine Dentition and Age

At approximately 5 years of age when all the permanent teeth have erupted, a horse is said to have a "full mouth".

At 11 or 12 years of age when the cups are absent from all lower and upper incisors a horse is said to be "smooth mouthed".

So, by checking for the presence or absence of cups in the incisors, it is possible to estimate age between 6 and 12 years.

When a horse is older than 12 years, it is difficult to estimate age and accuracy decreases.

However, In the nineteenth century, Sydney Galvayne, claimed that the groove which appears on the upper corner incisors of a horse can be used to determine its age. The phenomenon has come to be known as "Galvayne's Groove" and belief in it's practicality persists today:

9 to 10 years - Groove appears at gum margin
15 years - Groove is half-way down labial surface of incisor
20 years - Groove extends entire length of labial surface of incisor
25 years - Groove disappears from upper 1/2 of tooth
30 years - Groove disappears completely from the tooth

"Bishoping" is the practice of drilling new cups in aged incisors, then burning or dying these artificial funnel-shaped hollows to resemble the dark cups found in a young horse's mouth.

Conclusion

Jack Easley, DVM, an equine practitioner in Shelbyville, Kentucky, believes that aging horses using Galvayne's formula is, at best, an educated guess and not an exact science.