Question:
Apparently at some point during the last week my boy decided he's at least half
beaver. He's scheduled for his first dental appointment tomorrow. Anyone have
any suggestions on keeping him quiet for the dentist?
He was imprinted at birth (is now 3-1/2 years), takes the bit well, isn't much
bothered by someone playing in his mouth, lowers his head when asked, isn't
particularly spooky, basically is pretty easy going about most things. But
he's never been floated before and will also be getting his wolf teeth pulled.
The dentist will be bringing some sedative with him, just in case. I'd rather
sedate him than have a major battle, but we'll see how he reacts before
resorting to drugs. (I've never had to sedate a horse for dental work yet,
going slow and easy usually works just fine since mine are used to doing what
they're told anyway.) But this is my first baby and I've not had to deal with
a "first" dental appointment before.
Any suggestions or words of wisdom would be welcome. Oh, yeah, the kid is
about 17.0 hands, so calm, quiet, tractable, with head *lowered* is what I'm
after! Please email suggestions in case the posts are late to my server.
Answer:
I personally can't imagine getting any of my teeth pulled without being thoroughly
sedated, and I would only want a pain-free experience for my equine friend, too.
Anything less will be setting yourself up for battles in the future...
My gelding is 23 and still has his wolf teeth. So do all of the other geldings I
know. Any particular reason why you're getting them pulled?
my gelding, jack, had his wolf teeth pulled last spring. they weren't
interfering with the bit, but they were big and obstructing the dentist from
being able to get to his rear teeth. she showed me the problem and explained
that she felt for future maintenance it would be best to extract them.
I hate to say it, but IMO, sometimes the more you overthink things,
and the more you imagine the possible pitfalls, the more likely you
are to actually cause problems. Both of our 2-yr-olds were floated
earlier this year. They looked a little surprised by the funny noises
coming from their mouths, but it just wasn't a big deal. Neither came
close to leaving the ground. :)
Our dentist has pulled wolf teeth without a tranq., and all of our
horses behave very well for him. He's very good about letting a horse
off the hook for a moment if needed. He'll just step back and let the
horse circle him for a moment. They stop and look at him, and he goes
back to work. He is never confrontational, never lets his ego get in
the way, and little fears and apprehensions never get a chance to
escalate.
Personally, I wouldn't let a dentist tranq my horse. If a tranq is
needed, I'll do it with the vet either doing the work, or in
attendance.
