Mervi Pakola Horse Academy

27/09/2024

03/09/2024

Check out this post about equine tooth pain!

DVM, PhD, MSc Clinical Management of Pain Ann-Helena Hokkanen: An equine toothache

📌Dental diseases are common causes of pain in horses. Several different behavioral changes can indicate that a horse is experiencing toothache. In particular, changes in eating behavior and the horse's attitude to the bit often indicate pain in the mouth. In a Finnish study, the results of a dental examination performed by a veterinarian were compared with the horse's behavior reported by the owner.

✅️Researchers found that horses and ponies with at least one potentially painful change in their molars showed more pain-indicating behavior than animals with no potentially painful changes in their teeth.

A horse or pony with a toothache can:

🐴turn his head while eating
🐴move hay around in his mouth
🐴take breaks while eating
🐴drop hay from his mouth
🐴 wash hay in water
🐴avoid drinking cold water
🐴resist taking the bit
🐴open mouth and shake head with the bit
🐴be afraid of touching his head

The clarity and number of changes in the animal's behavior that indicate pain are always individual, because many different factors affect the experience of pain and its intensity. In some horses and ponies, pain in the tooth caused numerous different behavioral changes, while in some dental problems only minor changes were associated, especially in eating behavior.

✅️It is important to stop regularly to observe the eating of the horse under your care, so that it would be easier to notice the changes. The researchers also found that the behavior of ponies and Icelandic horses telling about toothache is often more subtle than that of horses. Therefore, even small changes in behavior related to possible dental problems in ponies should be taken seriously.

⚠️The horse's mouth and teeth must be examined by a veterinarian regularly. Therefore, always follow the instructions given by your own veterinarian about the appropriate inspection interval.

References: Laukkanen T, Karma L, Virtala AM, Mykkänen A, Pehkonen J, Rossi H, Tuomola K, Raekallio M. Behavioral Signs Associated With Equine Cheek Tooth Findings. J Equine Vet Sci. 2023 Feb;121:104198. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2022.104198. Epub 2022 Dec 23. PMID: 36566909. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36566909/

18/08/2024

I welcome you to join our new page about Equine Pain . Here you will learn more about the most important thing as a horse people, pain behaviour of the equine.

Please share, because it's very important that us horse people learn to recognise pain instead of saying thing like "the horse is just being naughty" and stuff, so we can treat the pain. 🙏

19/12/2023

⚠️This horse is lame. Do you see which foot?

As a horse trainer and rehabilitator I come across with horses that are lame, but this lameness hasn't been seen. I think it's important for all the horse people to learn to see lameness.

❗Answer which foot below. Don't tell, how you can see it, so everyone else has an opportunity to answer as well.

I will make new post of the answer later.