The answer to this question is No, and one should not try to float one’s horse’s teeth. It is the job of a vet doctor to do so because such a person has undergone a series of practices, and they have a knack for doing so.
When floating a horse tooth, one needs to avoid cutting away too much of the tooth’s hard outer layer. If too much of the enamel is floated, ripping food apart would be difficult due to the lack of a roughened area.
Table of Contents
Floating Horse’s Teeth Yourself At Home: A Step By Step Guide.
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Step 1
You might decide to give the horse drugs to make it feel relaxed and sleep. This is done to prevent any form of angry or violent behavior. However, not all horse owners sedate their horses during floating.
This step has to do with how your horse behaves, and it is essential to note that a horse can be troubled and disturbed due to fear rather than pain.
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Step 2
When performing the floating process, a wedge is used to make the horse’s mouth ajar while carrying out the process.
It is usually put in the space of the upper and lower jaw. A dentist, however, makes use of a dental speculum to facilitate visual inspection or medication. It is critical to know how to properly handle these devices to keep the dental formula of your horse intact.
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Step 3
Delicately put the horse’s tongue to one side to avoid any form of harm or damage to the horse, then you can advance with the examination.
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Step 4
A set of traps placed around a horse’s head to be led or tied is sometimes helpful to ensure that the horse’s head is property raised to the right angle for a befitting examination.
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Step 5
The next step is to check for parts of the horse’s teeth that must be floated. You might think this is the easiest of steps; however, it’s a step that requires a great deal of care.
While using your fingers to look for parts that need floating, is it possible for the teeth to bite your fingers, causing injury.
This is why a wedge is necessary when floating, and the process should never be carried out without this device.
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Step 6
The last step is to use either a manual or electric float to carry out the fundamental floating process. Even though the electric float is faster than the manual, it makes a noise that can disturb or anger the horse.
Due to this reason, you find many horse owners making use of the manual float.
Take note that proper hygiene must be maintained while carrying out the floating process. A chemical substance used in killing harmful germs and bacteria, disinfectant, should be kept in a bowl near you so that you will be able to immerse your float before putting it in the horse’s mouth.
In addition, a vet doctor should be allowed to inspect the horse’s mouth from time to time, as this is very important for the horse’s well-being.
You should constantly check up on your horse’s mouth before any problem arises. It is better to prevent it than to cure it.
Signs A Horse Needs Tooth Floated
- Allowing hay, grain, or food particles to fall from the mouth while munching on the food.
- Letting saliva flow out of the mouth while eating.
- Decrease in body weight due to reduced physical desire for food.
- Grasping solid objects with their teeth and gulping air
- Edgy points at the tooth of the horse
- Physical discomfort as they bite on food.
When you start seeing these signs from your horse, it should tell you that it’s time for the horse’s teeth to be floated.
It is essential not to ignore such behaviors because your horse could be passing through a great deal of pain. When the tooth of a horse is so sharp, it can make a hole or wound the inner part of the mouth.
Why Is It Called Floating A Horse’s Tooth?
Floating a horse’s tooth removes edgy and sharp points from the tooth to create a smooth pattern for tearing and grinding food.
When sharp points start becoming more extensive or more advanced in a horse’s mouth, it can poke into the gum, thereby causing gum ache.
The pain can be so severe as to reduce the physical desire for food by the horse. There are some symptoms that a horse exhibits, which show it is ready for floating.
How Much Does Teeth Floating In Horses Cost?
The price of floating a horse’s tooth is not constant, and it depends on the amount of treatment each horse needs for their tooth.
If you’re taking your horse for a routine dental examination, you need to pay fees for an examination from the vet doctor, sedation, occlusion of the teeth.
Apart from these, one might still need to pay money for dental mapping of your horse’s tooth before the treatment was administered and after, suggesting other health care problems, and so on.
The cost of other treatments and diagnosis of diseases that affect the periodontal tissues or regions, removal of teeth, X-ray of the teeth are charged separately.
Horse Sore After Teeth Floating. What To Do?
After the teeth of some horses are floated, they tend to be affected by pain. These is common in horses that oppose or chew forcefully while the process is being carried out.
If you notice that your horse becomes sore after the floatation process, it is best to take such horse back to the dentist for proper check up. Some injections such as Banamine will be given to the horse to help relieve the pain.
Can I Float My Horse’s Tooth Myself?
The best answer to this question is No. Floating a horse’s tooth is a delicate process that requires a great deal of expertise. It is best to take the horse to a vet doctor who has gone through the drill and practice of floating.
Can You Float A Horse’s Tooth Without Sedation?
During the sedation process, it is essential to give the horse drugs that will cause it to be calm and relaxed during floating. It is impossible to conduct a dental examination without proper horse sedation.
Even though the process might not be painful, it helps to reduce fear in the horse because just the routine work can make the horse fear.
Sedation is safe for the horse, so there should not be a cause for alarm when your horse is about to be sedated. It only makes the sedation process faster and produces the desired results without physical force or pressure.
Can I Ride My Horse After The Dentist?
Horses are free to be ridden the following day after the floating process, given that all things are equal. After sedation has been carried out on a horse, it should not be allowed to eat cut and dried grass for at least two to three hours.
Can Horses Eat Before The Dentist?
There is no problem in allowing your horse to feed on hay or grass before seeing the dentist; however once the horse has been sedated, it is necessary that the horse is not allowed to feed on anything for about two to three hours to prevent the horse from choking on the food.
Do Horses Need A Day Off After The Dentist?
Knowing whether a horse needs a day off or not depends on the type of treatment given to it. If it is a regular course or procedure, it’s okay to ride it after. If the procedure involves entry into the body, it’s best for the horse to take a day off.
How Long Does A Horse Dentist Take?
The time it takes to float a horse’s tooth is not constant. It differs from one horse to another. However, it takes about thirty to forty-five minutes for the floating process to occur. Horses with severe abnormalities, those capable of exhibiting resistance, or horses needing further examination will take longer.
How Often Should I Get My Horse’s Teeth Done?
The floating of a horse starts at the beginning of a horse’s life. After a few years, when your horse has been born, you need to take it to the vet for dental examination every six months.
This will help prevent any problem later rather than curing it after the deed has been done. However, the more your horse gets older, the more it needs to visit a dentist for examination because ancient teeth need regular care.
Structure Of A Horse’s Tooth.
When a horse is given birth to, it is usually without teeth, but it starts growing teeth that might number up to twenty-four after a year. After five years, when the horse is an adult, the number of teeth increases to thirty-six it forty.
Typically, a fully grown horse will have twelve teeth in the font used for cutting grasses or leaves while feeding on them.
There’s also a space between the teeth in a jaw known as diastema that allows the easy movement of food in the mouth. The large teeth near the back of the jaw, molars, and premolars are usually twelve each in number.