Wolfe Equine Veterinary Practice

10/08/2023

I am looking for one part-time vet tech/assistant to assist me during the week. I have a dentistry only equine veterinary practice. Horse handling skills and dependability are what I value the most. You will need a driver's license and be able to drive a truck and trailer. I can teach you everything else. Any interested applicants please contact me directly at (352) 427-0903.
If you want to see my set up and what I do check out my website (wolfeequine.com).

10/31/2021

10/24/2021

10/10/2021

This is "Transcendant" a Warmblood mare in her mid-teens. She was diagnosed radiographically with Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH). I have posted EOTRH cases before. This one is not so obvious to the casual observer. The owner was told that she had it by another dentist but was looking for a second opinion. She had the telltale "blood blister" like lesions that indicate there is a draining tract from a tooth root abscess. She also had some resorption on her crowns that tend to collect calculus (aka tartar). The radiographs confirmed the diagnosis and revealed severe resorptive lesions and fractures of her incisors. Check in next week to see what we did!

10/03/2021

"Blockbuster" is a 30 year old gelding that was referred to Dr. Wolfe because of significant weight loss. He had a great appetite but was not gaining weight. "Blockbuster" had been "floated" by a lay-floater a couple of years ago. The dental issues you see in these photos are the result of years of inadequate treatment. The reason he was not gaining weight is that he is unable to chew without pain. The tall teeth on top in the front and in the back on the bottom were traumatizing the opposing jaw. Horses' cheek teeth finish growing around 7-8 years. The whole tooth consists of the crown you can see in the mouth, reserve crown in the jaw and the roots. Horses' teeth erupt ~ 3-4 mm per year. Any tooth that does not have another tooth to grind against will continue to erupt and eventually cause significant problems like "Blockbuster's".

09/28/2021

We will be there to show off our equipment and our new digital radiography machine. If you are interested in dentistry or have any questions for Dr. Wolfe, we will be happy to talk with you tomorrow.

This is the last week to register for the Florida Equine Institute & Allied Trade Show happening next Wednesday! We have a great day planned and hope you can join us. Purchase event tickets & view the agenda at this link: https://bit.ly/Equineinstitute

09/28/2021

Miss Effie Trinket decided to do some yoga, "downward dog" during her dental exam. She seems to have mastered the pose! Our mini patients keep it interesting.

09/28/2021

Happy first day of Fall! 🍂🍁🌧💨

This time of the year is ideal to prepare your horse and your property for the arrival of winter. Your veterinarian is one of your greatest allies this season: be sure to discuss vaccination and dewormers, but also use this opportunity to chat about recommended changes in nutrition and exercise program for your horse, and at what temperature turnout sheets and blankets might be a good idea. Your horse doctor can help you and your equine friend ease into the colder season without a hitch!

01/17/2021

Did you know that bot flies can cause mouth issues? Bot flies look a lot like bumble bees and they lay their yellow eggs on the ends of horses' hair on their legs and other areas. This generally occurs in the fall but can during other times of the year as well. Warm saliva from the horse's mouth causes the eggs to hatch and start their journey through the digestive tract. Sometimes the larva get waylaid in the horse's mouth on their way to the stomach. The larva burrow into the gingival margins of teeth causing itchy and painful wounds in the mouth.

01/14/2021

These pictures are from a 20 year old Thoroughbred broodmare that I saw this week. We were at the farm to do our routine annual visits with the other broodmares. “BC” was acquired by my client last summer. She was in good body condition and having no obvious problems eating.
This is what happens when there is lifelong neglect of dental care! I was sick when I pulled back the corner of her mouth and saw the giant tooth. This poor mare! She is the dam of multiple stakes winners and made money for her previous owner.
I partially reduced the tooth using my water-cooled “Versafloat” with a carbide tile cutting bit. The margins were smoothed with a diamond coated apple core burr. I will return in 4-6 months to finish the reduction. There is always concern when reducing a tooth because of the risk of opening the pulp horns and damaging the live tissue inside. No pulp horns were opened. She should be much more comfortable now!

01/14/2021

This is a bot fly larva that was pulled out of a wound in the gingiva at the palatal margin of of a cheek tooth. This larva was removed from a wound in a horse's mouth during a dental exam. See this January 17, 2021 post for more info about bot flies.

09/01/2019

This is "Queen Natifa". She is 15 years old and had a bout of laminitis last year. The laminitis occurred secondary to years of obesity and the development of "Equine Metabolic Syndrome" (EMS). EMS is a common problem amongst horses these days. There is probably a genetic component but the primary cause is from too much caloric intake and not enough activity. EMS is not my main topic today.

Queen Natifa's owner was instructed by her attending veterinarian to decrease her grazing time. There are multiple ways to do this. Horses can be kept stalled and turn out for a limited number of hours per day. They can be turned out in a paddock with little or no grass. Another option is to put a grazing muzzle on when they are turned out on pasture.

I'm not here to promote or critique any particular grazing muzzle but to make horse owners aware of the potential problems of using them. The muzzle pictured just happens to be the one that caused problems for this particular horse. After 8 months of use, there was significant wear on the front surface of her incisors. There are vital pulp chambers within the incisors. The wear may have caused exposure of the pulp chambers and allowed bacteria in. This could cause an infection inside the tooth. We will find out over the next several months to years if "Queen Natifa" has caused long term damage to her incisors. Other than the wear, the teeth currently appear normal and the pulp chambers are not open (meaning there is no hole with feed packing into them).

My recommendation was to discontinue use of this muzzle and opt for a softer one. She may wear out the muzzle but it will be less likely to damage her teeth. I took radiographs of these teeth and will continue to monitor them on a biannual or annual basis. My hope is that no infection develops. Sometimes when there is pulp exposure, the tooth is able to wall off the open part of the pulp chamber inside the tooth thus preventing infection. The worst case scenario for "Queen Natifa" is that one or more of her teeth become infected and need to be extracted.

08/25/2019

I diagnosed Cobra a few months ago with EOTRH (Equine Ondontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis), a condition that primarily affects incisors. I extracted all his incisors back in May. He has had an incredible recovery. Here is a video of him playing with his buddy! Cobra is the bay and he's 27 years old. Please share! If you are interested in learning about his case and EOTRH check out my other posts over the past few weeks.

08/25/2019

I extracted all Cobra's incisors a few months ago after diagnosing him with EOTRH. I show this because the first question people usually ask is "will they be able to graze". The answer, in the vast majority of cases, is a resounding YES!
For those of you following Cobra's progress, here is a video of him grazing.
Check out Wolfe Equine's previous weeks posts to find out more about Cobra and his condition. If your horse has any of the clinical signs that Cobra did and you have concerns about EOTRH please give us a call. (352) 427-0903 Please share!

08/25/2019

Cobra FB Post #3
Here are photos of Cobra two months post-extraction. He did extremely well during his recovery. He started grazing within a day of extracting the lower incisors. It understandably took him a little longer to figure out grazing with all the incisors gone! Another one of the consequences is that their tongues tend to hang out.

His owner noticed immediate improvement in his attitude and behavior after the lower incisors were extracted. He was eating enthusiastically again and was seen grazing most of the time even when his buddies were relaxing in the shade. He also started playing again.

Although some horses need more nutritional support since they are unable to graze as efficiently, all the ones we have managed do very well and don’t need additional hay and grain. Cobra's owner has actually cut back on his rations.

Remember horses chew their food with their cheek teeth not their incisors. They have amazing prehension with their tongue and lips and are able to eat their grain and hay normally. That said, it is important to evaluate the condition of their cheek teeth before extracting the incisors. Cobra had a fractured lower premolar and a couple of loose premolars that we addressed before tackling the incisors.

If your horse has any of the clinical signs that Cobra did and you are concerned that he might have EOTRH please give us a call. We would be happy to answer your questions and address your concerns. (352) 427-0903 Please share!