Disaster!

[wildponies]

One of my ponies has taken a bashing in the field and has lost most of her front incisor! She had a huge chunk of my mare's tail in her mouth so i think i know who's the culprit.. I turned up tonight to find her top gum covered in blood and a big gap where her tooth used to be, she's only young - about 2 and a half ish. Being a complete novice when it comes to dental care.. what does this mean for her future? I realise that horses teeth keep growing, but if this stump of a tooth is too badly damaged will she never regrow her tooth? I called the dentist who can't make it out till the weekend so what should i do for her, i have cleaned it up a bit but it was sore for her and she kept jerking her head up with pain, any advice for me guys?! put my mind at rest?! :(

[Emma R]

I've never known a horse break a tooth before, but I'm sure it happens sometimes. Try not to worry too much, I'm sure the dentist will be able to do something to help her feel more comfortable. I would hope that as long as the root isn't badly damaged that it will re-grow in time.

HORSES, why do we put ourselves through all this??!!

[HairyCob]

As for care before the dentist gets there, the only thing that springs to mind is to try to squirt some salt water into her mouth to run down over the broken tooth and out of the mouth- you don't want her to swallow it, just want it to clean the wound!

If the broken tooth is a 'baby tooth' then her 'big' tooth should grow into the gap in good time I think, if it's an adult tooth, I don't think they grow back.... but all is not lost- HC has a deformed top front tooth, it's only ever grown to about half the length it should be. The dentist burrs off the opposite bottom tooth about once a year because it just keeps growing into the gap- because the top one isn't there to grind it down. This takes all of fifteen minutes and thirty quid, as HC doesn't mind having it done so doesn't need sedating. I guess if the horse needed sedation that would push the cost up considerably!

It doesn't affect him in terms of bitting, and he can eat just fine, so try not to worry too much!

I would imagine if she is only two, that what has happened is one of her baby caps has been knocked out and the dentist will simply remove the rest of it and a new one will grow in its place in due course.

In the meantime all you can do is keep an eye on it as best you can and try not to 'worry' her mouth too much- it will be sore and bruised at the very least and the remaining bit of tooth may be sharp.

Hope this helps!

[wildponies]

Emma - tell me about it!

Thanks hairy cob - maybe its time someone invented horse dentures.. I used salt water on her but she didn't really appreciate that and i almost lost ANOTHER leadrope - haha. I'll make her feeds nice and mushy so that it's a little more gentle on her mouth, i would normally have separated her from the herd and put her into another field but she's destroyed 2 fences already and YO isn't very happy so she can stay put for now, i expect they were playing a bit too roughly as there have never been any malicious signs before now!

[galadriel]

There's a medicine that we use for toothaches or mouth sores...it's called "Kanka" I think. You put it on sores/painful teeth to numb and soothe the pain. You could probably call up your dentist/vet and ask if you could use this on her until the dentist can come. It would at least help numb it some :) (I would imagine that you could get it at a grocery or pharmacy.)

[wildponies]

cheers, i'm willing to try anything to make her comfy, she's such a sweetie i hate to see her in pain!

[Tor&Warrior]

Poor little girly! Sounds a bit like Vins little accident over the weekend. Excet his tooth is still hanging on in there! Were not quite sure whether its going to come out or not, it seems solid but the gum has turned pretty black and its at a very strange angle. I'm going to get him some braces! The vet didn't seem worried that he may loose it. She said they get their first adult teeth at 2 1/2 so I suppose it would just be wether or not your girlies tooth is her adult one. Like HC said though, even if it is its still going to be ok. I suggested horse dentures on my post about Vin to too :D Hope she's feeling more comfortable and let us know what the dentist says!

[Bobbi77]

Our pony lost her baby "caps" three months before she turned 3, so hopefully this is just a baby tooth for your littl'un. Hope she heals soon!

[chev]

They do lose incisors at around that age, so try not to worry too much. She'll need the opposite tooth kept in check to stop it growing too high, like HC said, but it does sound like maybe it was a baby tooth that got knocked out. It's probably just as well the dentist can't come till the weekend - it'll give the bruising a chance to settle and probably mean she'll be easier to work with. In the meantime, ask your vet for some bute to help with the pain.

Poor mare - hope she feels better soon. :(

[wildponies]

she only knocked out her baby tooth :D the dentist showed me her big teeth pushing her others out already! The bruising has gone down and she's eating fine, and i had the vet out as well (just incase) and he said that if the adult teeth did come down a bit wonky after this bang, (was deffo a knock that brought the tooth out he thinks) she can have a horse brace. How hilarious.. i thought he was joking but he wasn't, ah well. Has anyone ever had a horse with a brace?! Apparently it just consists of wire which is knotted at each end and tightened until all the teeth are in line, a bit like a human brace.

We bought this mare recently and were told that she was 3.. well guess what.. she's not.. she's only 2 so she'll be having about 18 months in the field now to get fat before she starts her work, yay i'm so happy for her! :)

[chev]

Aw, glad it was nothing too serious. It did sound like a baby tooth but then when you see blood like that it's frightening!