Equine Dental Services Aruba

👅 The grass muscle!
The most sensitive part of the tongue!

😋Also referred to as the Ta**us bulge, grass tongue, its the genioglossus muscle.
🍴Basically its job is to move grass around in the mouth. It connects the tongue to the hyoid apparatus and jaw, playing a vital role in both chewing and stabilising the upper airway during respiration and exercise.

🐎It varies in thickness, height and position in every horse and because it is highly sensitive it can very much control what bit pressures a horse will tolerate.

😝Many bits will use tongue pressure as a means of controlling the horse and generally horse's with a larger grass muscle will not like this style of pressure.
✨️They will react in various ways to avoid having pressure on the tongue
- head high, head too low - hollow frame.
- inconsistent head carriage
- open mouth
- rolling tongue around
- withdrawing tongue
- tongue sticking out
- tongue over the bit
- rushing on / not going forward properly.
- head tossing
- stiffness throughout the jaw / neck / poll and body.

🤔 Most people's typical reaction to a horse getting its tongue over the bit is too lift it higher but you are in actual fact lifting it closer to this sensitive area which will make the horse more uncomfortable.

🐴 In over 90% of the cases I see as a bit fitter the horse is reactive to some form of tongue pressure. 👅

Thank you to a client for the photo x

When do horses need dentals? 🦷

The typical answer you'll hear is "yearly", but it is more complex than that. A lot of factors come into play. Here's a summarized breakdown:

-At birth, owners should evaluate the maxilla and mandible (upper and lower jaw) and look for issues such as brachygnathism, prognathism, and wry nose. Depending on severity, veterinary intervention may be necessary.

-At age 2 or before a horse is started, a dental should be performed. Horses with congenital issues may need their first dental at a younger age.

-From age 2-5 (or until all permanent teeth are erupted and in occlusion), a dental should be performed every 6 months.

-From age 5 until teeth start to expire a dental should be performed yearly.

-Geriatric horses should be evaluated every 6 months.

Horses that have not had consistent or quality dental care and horses with malocclusions or other issues may need dentals every 6 months.

Call, text, or message this page if you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment!
☎️ : 304-893-8200

Teeth talk: Understanding your EDT

Have you heard your EDT mention ETR? 🦷 🐴

www.baedt.com

Well that's a wrap, Rancho Loco's horses all checked and cared for their routine yearly dentals. A couple of the new additions to the ranch provided some interesting cases!!

Some very nice information on equine incisors

So important to thoroughly check everywhere! Sedation = relaxed tongue = thorough examination #equinedentalclinic #equinedentalspecialist #equinedentistry #nopaincheckagain #equinedentalhealth

Endless beaches and Icelandics ❤️❤️❤️