Teeth Grinding

[donnamm]

My TB gelding has a terrible habit of grinding his teeth when he is excited for example when he first arrives at an event and sometimes when he jumps. Has anyone come accross a solution for this problem? Its really loud as well and sometimes quite embarrassing! :o He'll need dentures by the time hes 10!:D

His teeth have been checked and are fine. Someone suggested a rubber bit, but I dont know how this would help as he grinds his teeth, not the bit. Any suggestions welcome.

[Iron Maiden]

I knew a horse (another TB) that did this all the time, it drove me mad when I tacked him up and/or rode him - it was really loud and incessant! He was never cured, although he was well into his 20s when I knew him & it never seemed to cause him any problems health wise. He was ridden in a straight rubber snaffle & it didn't help at all!

[keep the faith]

Lady does that when she's nervous or anxious. You just need to make sure they get their teeth done regularly and learn to live with it. I've had Lady for 4yrs now and hardly notice it till someone points it out. It could be worse they could be exploding with nerves instead of grinding teeth.:D

[Pink's lady]

Teeth griding can be caused by stomch ulcers, which flare up when the horse is excited or stressed. It isn't helped by them having an empty stomach either. The griding produces saliva which helps sooth the ulcer.

Maybe ask you're vet about Gastrogaurd. Making sure he eats hay whilst he's out might help too.

[angelfben]

As long as he only does it in these situations and not all the time it definitely sounds like it's an excitement/anxiety/anticipation response rather than a medical thing. A horses natural reaction in times of stress is to graze as it has some sort of chemical calming affect on the brain so I'm guessing grinding the teeth mimics this in some way and that's why they do it? That's just my take on it though I could be way out :p

Either way, I've know a few who do it when they're excited, mostly at times like waiting for their dinner! And they lived long, healthy lives and none of them managed to do it to the extent they damaged their teeth. Carry on getting his teeth checked regularly as you are doing and perhaps worth getting his back and saddle checked if you haven't already just to eliminate any possibility of pain... but if he doesn't do it when you ride him day to day and only in exciting situations as others have said it might just be a quirk you have to live with :o

It could be worse... when my boy gets excited or in a tizz about something he grunts really loudly and sounds like a cow according to others on the yard :o