- Cheek teeth may become unevenly worn, so they don’t grind feed efficiently and can cause ulcers on the tongue.
- The signs of this include dropping of feed from the mouth while chewing, bulging of the cheeks caused by wads of food becoming impacted between the teeth and cheek, and/or green staining around the mouth caused by drooling of saliva.
- Overgrown edges on cheek teeth are common in elderly ponies and horses.
- Treatment is by rasping the sharp edges and it takes a trained person like a veterinarian or a horse dentist to do this effectively.
- To prevent problems, it is wise to have the cheek teeth of ponies and horses rasped regularly, perhaps once a year or so, by a veterinarian or a horse dentist.
- Periodontal disease can affect cheek teeth. It is caused by infections of the gum and supporting structures around the cheek teeth roots.
- In severe cases the bone becomes swollen and sore, then the animal is reluctant to chew its cud and it gets thin.
- If you suspect any problems like this, veterinary care is needed to avoid behavioral and welfare problems.
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Horses & other Equines
Dr Clive Dalton
Clive did a Ph.D. in sheep breeding at the University of North Wales at Bangor. After lecturing at Leeds University, he came to New Zealand to do research with MAF. Because of his communication skills, he moved to the Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre to be fully involved in interpreting science for practical application by farmers.
After 14 years he moved to teach at the Waikato Polytechnic where he taught young future farmers. He won the 1993 Landcorp Communicator of the Year award and the 1999 Sir Arthur Ward award for agricultural communication.