Smile, Izzy!

I should have known better, at least for the sake of my wallet, but once Dr. Tolley was done with Izzy's leg, I asked if he could check Izzy's teeth.

Having brought up more than one youngster, including Speedy, I know how important early dental care is for a horse, especially one who is just starting to pack a bit. Izzy's first owner had already had his wolf teeth extracted, so I knew I didn't need to worry about that.

Dr. Tolley is well-known for being an excellent dentist, so when his arm was buried in Izzy's mouth and he gave a few dissatisfied harrumphs, I knew I was adding a few dollar signs to my bill. Izzy's teeth were definitely in need of work. Both the tops and bottoms had sharp edges from front to back. 

While the leg has been wrapped, you can still see some of the carnage from the debridement of the leg wound.

While Izzy's teeth needed work, particularly if he is going to start packing a bit around, there was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the whole visit went really well considering that just a few weeks ago I was receiving emails suggesting that he was proving to be an "unmanageable" horse. 

Dr. Tolley sedated him for the leg procedure, but only lightly. Izzy offered zero resistance to anything that we did. He was given a little more sedation for the dental work, but I have had horses that were still terrified of the procedure even with sedation. This boy took everything in stride.

When we finished with the dental float, I carefully escorted him out of the stocks and into the yard. My friend KG took over and spent the better part of an hour hand walking him while I went into the office to discuss our next step and take care of my bill. She said that he was a very polite drunk, and even as the sedation began to wear off, he behaved like a perfect gentleman.

Big smile, Izzy!

Izzy is proving himself to be a thoughtful youngster who trusts people. I simply couldn't ask for more.