Annual or bi-annual dental exams are essential to horse health. The Equine Dentist checks for loose or fractured teeth, sharp points that inhibit their ability to chew, and periodontal disease. The Equine Dentist then files or “floats” the surface of the teeth to ensure a good grinding surface to properly chew and digest hay. Mouth pain can present as a significant training issue, resulting in dangerous behavior like rearing, bucking and flipping over, caused by dental issues.
As horses age, they “run out” of tooth so keeping what teeth they have in good condition, helps keep them alive longer. Caleb has very little molar surface left and he eats a special diet of soaked foods. As he was a starvation case, we want to make sure he can still gum some loose hay and short grass.
The exam and floating does not cause the horse any pain, even though they may be sedated to be more cooperative for the Equine Dentist.
SBF works with Dr. Bayard Rucker, a renowned Equine Dentist and an expert in his field. These exams are around $125 per horse, depending on what the horse needs. Most of the rescue horses get exams twice a year and these costs add up. Consider donating so we can cover the costs of these exams and continue to rescue and rehabilitate horses in need.
Can You Help?
Make a Donation
Every gift, no matter how small, helps us continue our mission to rescue, rehabilitate, re-train, and re-home horses who are in need.
Shop with Amazon Smile
Do your amazon shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ and choose to support Sumner Brook Farm. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to Sumner Brook Farm.
Donate an Item from our AmazonSmile Wishlist
We also have a wish list through AmazonSmile! You can easily add an item to your cart and it will ship directly to the farm. We always need things like hoof oil, thrush treatment, rubber gloves, and more. Your help is greatly appreciated by us and the rescue horses!
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