Talk to me about "gentle dentists"... also, what else could drooling mean?

[JoZ]

Has anyone had experience with a vet or equine dentist using techniques on a scared, spooky or freaked-out horse?

I have a rescue mare that needs her teeth done. She has a violent reaction to sedation so that is not an option. I assume the dentist still needs to use the Big Scary Thing that holds their mouths open? Do horses really get into that without sedation? Is there any other way?

She lets me put my fingers in her mouth -- a stranger wielding tools? Not sure how that will fly. As far back as I've gone, I don't feel any extremely sharp points. BUT... over the past week I have noticed small puddles of drool on her stall walls and floor. I'm assuming that has to be a dental issue but she eats just fine. Any ideas what else would cause drooling? I never SEE her drool, just see the evidence.

Thanks. She is SUCH a challenge in oh-so-many ways... :rolleyes:

[Laurierace]

I have never had one single horse that needed sedation for the speculum. Not even my weanling/soon to be yearling who had never had a bit in their mouth. I know some horses need it, but not many in my experience. Give it a try.

[GraceThe Mare]

Several horses at my former boardng facility had an excessive drooling problem. Turns out it was realted to a type of weed growing in their pasture they'd been munching on. Only their pasture had this, and only 3 of four horses exibited the problem. Perhaps 4th horse didn't like the taste of said weed and didn't eat it? I don't know.
They did have the vet look into it, and the prognosis was "harmelss weed drool"
So, maybe this could help you? (though it's winiter, what's growing out there she could munch on?)

also, same barn had "natural dentist" no power tools, no anesthetic. Just a guy, hater, rope and hand held rasps. All horses accepted it, even the "ferrel ones". No horses had residual tooth problems, so it seems to effectively treat the hooks.

There's a lot of equine dentists out there who use this method. I'm sure you could schedule one to try your mare. I had ours look at a rescue I had just gotten, and she was relaxed and happy to oblige him.

Sorry i don't have more specifics for you, but I hope this helps a bit!

[goodhors]

Our Equine Dentist uses no power tools, horses are not sedated for regular dental work. However our horses are nice to handle all the time, not scared or silly.

If you can find a dentist that will give horse a try, just using the halter, etc, as mentioned above, you can see if it works for your horse. If not, I would find some Draft horse folks who had a shoeing stock, try doing the mare while she is contained in the stock. Draft shoeing stocks are meant to contain an animal without hurting them, even BIG rank ones, unused to being shod. So a viable option for holding her safely.

My first horse vet has a set of stocks that are amazing. They are home built of heavy lumber, anchored top and bottom, adjustable for wide or narrow, short or long bodies. Gates behind that open top or bottom for checking, but not getting kicked. Best part I always thought was the wide, 18" of belting that could be fastened across the back where the saddle would fit. Keeps ALL the hooves on the floor, no wiggling out from under the strap. Had a strap for under the belly as well. He puts both straps on horses he doesn't know, before starting any work for safety. Can't get up or down to escape the front rail or gate. Any horse in the stocks is literally, well contained, yet safe for the Vet to work on alll their parts. Horse can not escape the work they need done with bad behaviour, even the rankest horse. My first really nice horse had ATTITUDE, lots "I DON'T LIKE THAT" and would fight, even to rearing. Have to say a couple visits to the Clinic, thru the stocks, work including teeth done ANYWAY, took the fight out. Not being able to get moving, she got no reward for bad behaviour, regardless of HOW HARD she fought. Passive restraint just took the ambition right out for fighting. No reaction from people to make her work harder. She was a MUCH better behaved horse ever after!! When I quit using that Clinic because we moved, same mare was able to be done standing in the stall or barn aisle with no restraints beyond hold the lead rope!!

I like our new horse Vet, but the stocks at the Clinic are the generic model from a catalog. NOT MUCH to them for restraint of a fighter or terrified horse. I would think that my old horse would have broken or escaped them in a heartbeat. Would have hurt stocks and herself in stupid arguing. Also these modern stocks are not anchored down, have a pipe arch over horse's head, which is a GREAT place to slam the skull on. Just a poor design for stocks, after seeing those old ones. I would look for a set of shoeing stocks if Dentist can't do her standing at home.


For more mouth practices as you work with her, try holding her tongue. You may need a small rag to get a grip on the slippery thing! Just get her comfortable with tongue being held for long times, moving it from side to side, putting your hand inside while holding it. Mouth handling is just part of learning. She can't bite down while the tongue is stuck out the side of mouth, so biting is not a big worry for you. Might pinch jaws shut some but not full closed. Acceptance is the main lesson here. She needs to accept the odd things you ask of her, for a few seconds at first, then for longer times, fiddling with her mouth.

She will need to accept the speculums, so she is not biting down on the file, Dentist can get any sharp edges done and then SEE inside to check work. Maybe speculums could still be used but not opened to the last rachet lock, still work for the Dentist. Along with manually checking for points, try moving her lower jaw sideways while holding the top of skull (nose area) still. If lower jaw slides smoothly, easily sideways as they do in chewing, teeth usually are in fairly good chewing condition. This is one of the tests done when Dentist is done filing.

Not sure if your hay has old Red Clover in it. That is one of the big, drool causing plants in pasture when seasons are very wet, heavy dew at night. Such conditions allow the Fungus? to grow on the Clover, causing severe drooling after horses graze the Clover plants. Perhaps just checking the hay for odd weeds/plants, any overhang on the fence, see if you can find weeds she is injesting that could cause the drooling. Most animals will ignore those weeds, but some never learn or just want greenery.

Good luck with your girl and her problems.

[buck22]

I'm not a parelli person, but I did watch all the dvds and linda had a brilliant solution for helping a horse get used to the dentist, she'd desensitize with the handle of a dressage whip.

My own Morgan, who was/is a problem child, was a chronic flipper and never could have his teeth done before me. I used one dentist that was a large burly man and a good hand with horses, with just a rope halter and some hand tools, he did a basic job on him and managed to not get hurt. But, without a speculum, its hard to be thorough.

So, in preparation for our next dental exam I worked for a month with the back of a dressage whip, basically rasping his teeth and simulating the entire experience.

When the day came, my tooth balancer - who is also a reiki practitioner fortunately - did did her reiki thing on him which helped. We struggled for a good 20 min with the speculum, but managed to get it in. And we put it in and out a good bit too, to get him comfortable. My boy is quite herd bound so I kept his buddy tied close, and made sure we did the work in a small area that was quiet, yet large enough that he could walk in circles and not feel restricted. That was huge for him, letting him move around and not feel tied.

We survived the ordeal without any rearing or flipping, though there was a lot of walking in circles.

Since then, he gets done about 2x per year because his mouth was so far out of whack. Every visit he gets better and more confident (touch wood) and is on his way to becoming a model citizen about the speculum.

I have found it helpful to work them hard every day for a few days prior to the dentist too, physically and mentally, so they are not fresh and respectfulness is a forethought.

Its really not fun when you have a horse that panics.

eta: I think the tooth balancer also used some essential oils? some calming fragrances? I don't quite recall but I think she did that first time around.

at any rate, it is possible to train and prepare for this, though it takes some creativity. also, can you use any other calmers like quietex, etc? just to take an edge off?

[GraceThe Mare]

Thank you Goodhors, it WAS red clover that caused the drooling! I had a complete block and have been racking my brain on that all afternoon! Anyways, that's an easy one! lol.

[Toothgrinder]

Excessive drool can indicate a slipped cap, broken tooth or foreign object among other things. A oral exam would give you more valuable information.