T E E T H

○ Mandible - lower jaw
○ Maxillae - upper jaw
          • carries the premolars and molars
○ Check incisors for age up to 9 years old
          • 6 incisors in upper jaw
          • 6 incisors in lower jaw
○ Canine teeth - only found in male
          • in interdental spaces
○ There are 6 premolars, 6 molars in each jaw on every horse
○ Wolf teeth - small pointed teeth that appear at the base of the first premolar tooth.
   ○ A male horse has a range of 40-42 teeth
   ○ A female horse has a range of 36-38 teeth

○ I.C.P.M. - Incisors, Canines, Premolars, Molars
          • First incisor comes in at about 2.5- 3 years of age
          • Second incisor comes in at 3.5 years
          • Third incisor comes in at 4.5 years
          • Canine teeth come in at about 4-5 years of age

○ Foals often don't have incisors visible at birth
○ The 12 incisors are all replaced by 4.5 years old
○Determine age between 6-9 years by using the wear or smoothness of the cups (indentations) in the incisors.
          • Cups disappear from lower central, intermediate and corner incisors at 6-8 years.
          • Cups disappear from upper central, intermediate and corner incisors at 9-11 years.
          • At 10 years, the Galvayne's groove appears at
             the gum line of the upper corner incisor.
          • Galvayne's groove is halfway down by 15 years old, and all the way down by 20 years.
          • At 30 years old, Galvayne's groove has completely disappeared from the corner incisor
○ As the horse ages, the chewing surfaces of the teeth change from oval to triangular
○ Environmental conditions affect the wear of the incisors.
○ The horse is capable of lateral grinding of the jaw while chewing (side to side)
          • causes sharp surfaces on the inner edge of the lower molars & outer edge of the upper
             molars.
                     • the sharp surfaces can cause damage to the soft tissues of the mouth, like the tongue 
                       and the cheek
                    • results in need of floating- filing the sharp edges of the tooth
                    • damage is not recognized by many horse owners
                    • also can result in weight loss, change in eating behavior, head tossing with a bit in its 
                       mouth, sides of the face becomes sensitive to pressure.
○ Abnormalities in the jaw bone can result in an overshot jaw(parrot mouth) or and undershot jaw(monkey mouth).
          • Interferes with successful grazing.