How Often Should I Float A Horse?
Posted by Geoff Tucker on Mon, Nov 03, 2008
The opinions and views of this blog is for information and entertainment only and should not be used as a substitute for seeking advice from your veterinarian about your horse and your situation. Specific advice may only be given after a valid veterinary - client - patient relationship is made.I was talking with a Canadian vet last week that said horse’s teeth need floating only when they have a problem. He believed that more frequent floating was for production of income only. My thought is this – do you want to wait until there is a problem or do you believe in prevention? Here are my observations.
First, there has been little research done to determine the optimal frequency of floating. Only the observation of teeth over many years has led to my beliefs. One recent study was done with 14 horses. Consistent hay was fed to all the horses. Samples of ingesta were analyzed from the stomach, mid-gut, and feces. In addition, the teeth were examined for table level, sharp points, and other pathology. Their conclusion was simple. No matter what the teeth looked like, if the horses could chew, then the feces, representing the end result of digestion, were all the same. So as long as the horse can chew the food, what enters the stomach will be digested. (Whole grain seen in the feces is a feed consistency problem and not a tooth issue).
Second, if the horse cannot chew, then you are wasting money as the feed falls to the floor. I believe that the most overlooked part of chewing is the function of the tongue in positioning the food in the mouth. I often hear that a horse loves his soft hay, but spits out or refuses to eat the long stems. My observation is that if the teeth are sharp, the tongue cannot move the hay into position for chewing. Smoothing the sharp points allows the tongue to not only position the hay and grain, but it does two other things. It helps to clean the mouth of food particles that cause periopockets (an infection of the gum next to the tooth). The action of the tongue against the teeth also strengthens the connection of the tooth in the socket. I have seen this strengthening of loose teeth in older horses with little tooth remaining in the socket.
Third, the only reason to float teeth is to remove pain caused by the sharp points. This pain reveals itself usually as a problem on the bit. It is also seen in some horses that spill grain or leave long, stiff hay stems on the floor. Last month I talked about the threshold of pain in a horse. With some horses, one little sharp point can ruin bit contact or cause the horse to stop eating. Other tough guys give no indication that there is a tooth problem.
So here is my answer to how often you need to float teeth. If you are spending time and money training your horse, then somewhere between 6 months and a year, your horse will need their teeth floated. It is dependant on the horse’s threshold of pain. The question to you is do you want to wait until you finally recognize there is a tooth problem or do you want to prevent a problem and keep your horse in optimal shape?
One special note is needed here. If your horse is between 2½ and 5 years old, more frequent floating is usually necessary. Younger horses teeth are soft and sharpen quickly. Also, 24 baby teeth (caps) are shed and new, very sharp teeth replace them. A cap can be floated today and a month later that cap is shed and a month later a new sharp permanent tooth is in wear irritating the tongue or cheek. Horses under 5 years of age, therefore, should be checked every 3 to 4 months, especially if you are training them.
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