When I arrived Willy was riding a stunning liver chestnut mare in the arena. She belongs to a very ambitious 14 year old girl. The mare is with Willy for schooling as she is incredibly sensitive. We are taking the mare back to the owner on Sunday where Willy will be working with the girl and her trainer to improve their relationship. Willy asked me to ride her so that I could feel her sensitivity.
Wow! What an interesting mare to ride. A mare who can truly read your mind. The concentration required to ride her is immense but when you click it is truly wow. Afterwards Willy asked me to cool her down in walk along the tracks just outside the stables.
In the afternoon the dentist, Dr Antoine Barat, arrived. Tamtam and Eric were the first to be checked. Tamtam had a lot of sensitivity when the dentist touched his temporal mandibular joint. In humans TMJ problems can cause headaches. In horses they can go off their feed or get colic. Many unexplained colics are caused in this way. Tamtam just needed a quick once over so the dentist used his electric tools to ensure a good surface for mastication. He thought that the sensitivity in the TMJ may therefore be due to issues in the neck.
I asked him why he uses the electric tools and not manual. He told me that it is better for the horse as it is much quicker. The issue is that the dentist must be aware of this and not grind away all the surface. The horse needs a rough surface to grind his food not a smooth one!
Eric's teeth were fine (great given that he was last done in May last year!) Unlike Tamtam he had no sensitivity in the TMJ joint. The only thing the dentist needed to do was break off the tartar which had accumulated around his canines. He advised that this can be done using gros sel myself. I asked why some horses have this and others don't. He said they don't know exactly why but maybe it is the acidity of the saliva and genetics. It should be removed as otherwise the horse can get gum infections as a result.
The dentist checked about 20 horses and reported whether they needed doing and if not how many months before they were likely to need to be done. Willy explained that regular check ups are very important. He has his horses checked every 6 months or according to the recommendations of the dentist. The dentist told me Eric would not need to be seen for 2 years but that I must remove the tartar myself.
Willy's recommendations to me were up to 6 years every 6 months, then up to ca 20 years once a year and then for older horses twice again. He also said that horses not ridden don't need their teeth rasping just checking for other issues
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