how do i find an equine dentist??

[notpoodle]

yes, another stupid question of the first-time pony owner :D

at the vetting in june, vet said her teeth were fine but would need doing at the end of the year. well, we're approaching the end of the year, so i want her teeth looked at.

i know my vet does do teeth, but is it better to get an actual equine dentist? do i need a referal from my vet for that? or do i ask around at the yard for a recommendation and ring the dentist myself?

how much does this dentistry stuff cost (i presume her little gnashers just need rasping) in the south east?

thanks :)

julia
x

[Wez]

I have a nuber for an equine dentist..he also teaches. He's a really genuine guy..I live in Essex so I'm not sure what area he covers. If you'd like his number PM me.

[helenc]

Ask the people at your yard if they can recommend anyone. you can also try local tack shops, feed stores, show centres etc.

[Mehitabel]

http://www.beva.org.uk/ - look down the menu on the left (frames, so i can;t link directly) and there's a section where you can see a list of qualified ones who are in each area.

[baxter]

if your horse needs to be sedated, you'll need to use a vet as i found out!

[MeMe]

Yes you need to use a vet if the horse needs to be sedated, but the vet dosent have to do the teeth.

I am having Zaks all done on the 9th of Dec, by Greg Woods, he is doing all the bit seating and everything £45, and obviously the vet fees for having Zak sedated.

I would imagine Greg would cover London, but my normal dentist is £15 and really good, but I wanted a little more experience to set Zak up as I have not had him long and think there may be a problem there.

I can PM you Vince's number if you want? He is qualified, really nice guy, does my other horse to, and I use him routinely.

[ZAULTAG]

hiya

I got mine fromt he local horse mag. I live in Essex and there are normally dentist and vet advertising in there. I can give you a few numbers if you are in the area

[MeMe]

Hmm but I could name 1 NOT to use, and another whom I can recommend someone cheaper and better, PM me if you want these details!

Not always the best idea to just pick a person out of a mag, dosent make them good! Word of mouth is the best way.

[ZAULTAG]

Word of mouth can be another way but obviously your on a small yard or even on your own? it wont be efficiant.

I have found mine out the Essex rider and he was fab! he writes collems for them and was highly recommeneded. I belive that if the Mag has recommeneded him then he should be good enough for them to do a bit of free advertising.

[Big Ears]

our vet uses a dentist from Newmarket for their difficult cases that they don't want to do themselves. What they have tended to do is get him down for the day and get in to the hospital all the horses on their books with dental problems, so he sees several and this keeps the price down for the rest of us.

[MeMe]

But word of mouth extends beyond yards, tack shops, shows etc etc, local riding centres, these can all be a great source of info!

Whos that then Zaultag? I dont remember a dentist column in the ER, only Becky Chapman, Jane Van Lennep, Ken Lyndon Dykes, and the dressage column.

[baxter]

have to say i do agree with meme...there is a particular dentist who advertises in essex rider who has in fact got no proper dental qualifications and has a bad reputation around essex.

[notpoodle]

thanks for the replies guys :) ill ask around at the yard and will then proceed to check qualifications and cross-reference with horsey people who arent at the same yard, just to be sure :)

i wouldnt think angel needs to be sedated. she's good with vets and having her head touched etc. UNLESS it involves needles, if there is needles she WILL freak.

julia
x

[ZAULTAG]

obviously you would check that they are properly qualified

[notpoodle]

@ MeMe and anyone else who can recommend one! PM with numbers, thatd be great!

julia
x

[MeMe]

Hi Julia

I can send you the number of mine he is great, and if your just doing routine work, cheap aswell!

Hmm Baxter I wonder who that could be?????????;)

Gary Singh is supposed to be good, never used him, but I know Pete Singh very well, but Gary and Pete are farriers by trade really, so I'm of the opinion, of mixing dosent go well!

I'll PM you tomorrow Julia if I get abit of time to dig out the numbers, as clipping 2 horses for a friend tom, and got vet to do jabs, and taking my horse for my rider to have a lesson on fri! all money and time huh?

[notpoodle]

that one sorted itself today - by pure chance! got to the yard this morning (no lecture till afternoon!) to find a man setting up very strange looking equipment. turned out it was the equine dentist they use (mark slinsgby or something - he is very good i hear and his clients include some top competition horses!!), he was doing a couple of horses and Angel was allowed to join the queue :) my vet was also there for the dedation part and admin lady kindly lent me the money for the dentistry!

the low-down:

angel's teeth needed rasping. i knew that.

she also had wolfteeth removed (i didnt know they were still there .... ooops, spot the first time horse owner!!!)!!! she had to have not one but two doses of sedation (the lovely dentist pinned her down for the injection and cut a heartshape in her fur because vet coultn find any veins due to furriness!) .... by the end she was so groggy she almost fell over :rolleyes: my poor baby!!!

i rang the yard just now though and she's fully awake and cheery again :)

dentist also found a dislodged tooth somewhere at the back so he fixed that, too :)

i suspect the wolftooth thing might have something to do with her sometimes sticking her head up and opening her mouth wide when i (gently!) ask for a downwards transition ....

julia
x

ps: just thought of something else! dentist and vet said i could ride her again tomorrow because the teeth he pulled out were very small. i think i'll leave riding till the weekend though. what do you reckon?