1. Age of Equine It’s All in the Teeth

3. Determining Age Age affects usefulness and value Type, number and appearance of incisor teeth help determine correct age –5 years or less – some combination range from all milk teeth (temporary teeth) to all permanent incisors –6 to 12 years – number of cups (indentations) in permanent incisor teeth –12 years & over – examine cross section and slant of incisor teeth

4. Types of Teeth Adult horses typically have 36-44 teeth –12 Incisors (6 upper and 6 lower) –12 Pre-molars –12 Molars May have –Canines (4) –Wolf teeth (2)

5. The Numbers Make the Difference Immature horses – Total 24 temporary teeth Stallions & Geldings – 40-44 permanents –Most have 4 canines Mares – Total 36-38 permanent teeth –Mares are less likely to have canines

7. Types of Teeth: Temporary Teeth – small, white, oval shaped; wider side to side than front to rear Permanent Teeth – yellow, larger than temporaries with a general round surface Molars – used for grinding on each side Incisors – used for cutting

8. What’s the Difference 3 sets of incisors – Centrals, Middle, Corner Incisors –12 Incisors: 6 upper & 6 lower Incisors have a cup or indentation in center of tooth that wears down with age and ultimately disappears

9. What’s the Difference Pre-molars and Molars –12 pre-molars –12 molars –Often called cheek or jaw teeth –Used for grinding food

10. Wolf Teeth Wolf teeth are similar to our wisdom teeth –Some horses have them, others don’t –Some have to be removed, others don’t –No functional purpose today Residual “appendage” from past “Wolf” used to mean “bad” –appears in front of upper molars

12. As the horse ages: –Teeth are worn down (height) –Change shape (oval to triangle) –Cup is worn away

13. The Breakdown 1 year – All temporary incisors present / Cups gone from centrals 2 year - All temporary incisors present / cups gone 3 year - Temporary central incisors replaced with permanent central incisors

14. 4 years - Temporary intermediate incisors replaced with permanent intermediate incisors 5 years – All temporary incisors replaced with permanent incisors. Horse is full mouthed. 6 years – Cups gone from lower central incisors 7 years – Cups gone from lower intermediate incisors 8 years - Cups gone from lower corner incisors

16. 9 years - Cups gone from upper central incisors 10 years - Cups gone from upper intermediate incisors 11 years - Cups gone from all incisors. Horse is smooth mouthed.

17. Extras A hook (worn edge) may appear on upper corner incisors at 7 to 11 years Galvayne’s Groove – Line that appears on the upper corner incisors around 10 to 11 years, gets longer as horse ages. Angle of Incidence – angle at which the incisor teeth meet. Increases and teeth wear down as horse ages.

23. Extras Floating – Filing off the sharp edges of a horse’s teeth with a rasp-like instrument.

24. Bishoping – The practice of artificially drilling, burning or staining cups in teeth of older horses. –Makes them appear younger