teeth cleaning?

[Tammy]

Can/should a horse's teeth be cleaned?

I have not run across this question yet and as my mare has some swampy looking stuff by her gums.........

[liz--y]

dont have to clean them but they should have the dentist out every 6 months

[lamprellsarah]

yeah they shouldn't need it, if you don't feed sugary stuff, like keep away from too many polos they are the worst for teeth!!

[Lucy J]

my old horse used to clean his own teeth!!! he would find a hard stem of a plant/or small tree and run it up and down between his gums and teeth! He did have problems with his teeth though, but he kept the gunk out himself!!

[Bebe]

All the roughage in the horses diet (or at least if they're not fed tons of concentrates) acts as a sort of natural toothbrush so it's not usually necessary. I've heard of older ponies with problem teeth that have had to have them cleaned but it's not something every horse owner needs to do.

If you get the vet to check them (or the equine dentist if you can find a good one) you could mention the swampy stuff and see what they say.

Amanda