Some Words About Teeth

3/20/2019

First of all, you kind of need them; horses too. Keeping with the theme of this winter though, Speedy tried to knock his out.

Bottom row, far right.

Speedy's a worrier. He paces and whirls when he thinks he's been left on his own, which NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENS. On Sunday morning, while I lunged Izzy, Speedy apparently paced and whirled a bit too hard and whacked his face against the pole that holds up his roof.

You're looking at how far the tooth has been displaced.

I swear I cannot make this stuff up. When I saw the blood on his mouth, I pulled back his lip and saw a tooth hanging to the side. I gently pushed on it to see if it was loose, and he snapped his head back with an audible intake of breath. That sucker looks like it must hurt.

From the side.

Since he was eating and looked fine otherwise, I decided to wait to call the vet until Monday. Frankly, my wallet couldn't handle a Sunday emergency vet visit for something non-life-threatening. The ranch owner and I both agreed to give it one day to see if the swelling would go down overnight. It didn't.

Super funny blooper photo. We had tons of photos of his nose and nose hairs, but this one was the funniest.

I called the vet on Monday afternoon, but due to a busy schedule, a day off, and the dentistry required to fix this, it was decided to drop Speedy off last night so Dr. Tolley can get to him some time today while I am work. The plan is to wire the tooth back into place. Sort of of like having braces.

I'll let you know how it goes. Oh, and Universe? F*#@ you!

3/20/2019 08:16:05 am

It seems like Speedy's herdboundness/insecurities about being alone are leading to a lot of injuries. Aside from the immediate need (treating his injuries), are you planning long term changes or training to help address the root cause? It seems like that might benefit both of you in the long run!

megan k link

3/20/2019 08:21:41 am

I was thinking the same - I'd hate for it to escalate and have something truly horrible happen to him!!

Bakersfield Dressage link

3/20/2019 09:49:53 am

I would agree that this is an irritation before. he currently lives in an area with three or four other horses quite close. Izzy lives in the dry pasture across from him - there's a 15 foot aisle way between them. The adjacent dry pasture is empty, but immediately after are three more horses that he can easily see - they're less than 100 feet away. He has a new field mate. When Speedy is in his paddock, Rocky is out (and vice versa) but it is over a shared fence line. Over teh years, I've resorted to tying Speedy up in his paddock when I ride, but that doesn't work for long days. He's most upset when Izzy leaves even though they don't share a fence line. He also worries if Rocky leaves, but I can't ask Rocky's owner to not ride. I agree that it's an issue. Apart from having Speedy live completely isolated - he doesn't at all when he's all alone, there aren't a lot of other options. Well a padded stall and bubble wrap might work except that we all know he'd choke on those.

Cheryl

3/20/2019 08:56:55 am

My gelding did something similar but worse. Judging by the trail of blood, he got 2 lower teeth caught on a loop of chain securing a latch clip to the wall, panicked and pulled back. He shattered the sockets of 2 teeth and they were just hanging loose, with some torn gums to go with it. I took him to UC Davis ( they were close) and they wired the loose teeth to the undamaged ones. He had the “braces” for about 8 weeks, with a couple of additional visits to tighten them up. He was not allowed to graze or use his teeth on tightly packed hay flakes so I fluffed his hay into bite sized chunks for several weeks. But it healed beautifully! The teeth were perfectly straight, and if not for the weird scar tissue on his gums you would never know what had happened.

Speedy’s injury does not look as severe, and I hope it heals fast! He does need to stop creating vet appointments for you though lol.

3/20/2019 09:43:55 am

The vet's office manager/technician told me that it is a common injury in youngsters. Just recently a two-year old broke off tons of his front bottom teeth. Dr. Tolley wired everything back together, and it healed up just fine. She felt like Speedy's tooth was pretty minor. The swelling was nearly completely gone yesterday afternoon which should make it easier to get that tooth back into place.

martina peterson

3/20/2019 03:25:28 pm

seriously?how much can you both take I'm sorry but the one picture was funny

3/22/2019 05:23:29 am

It was funny, huh? We both laughed at it pretty hard. Talk to you soon, Mom. Love you! :0)

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Not-So-Speedy Dressage