Is it always necessary to have a horse's teeth floated?

I know about sharpened edges causing cheek pain, but I wonder if the prevalence of many horse treatments, including annual floating, are more fad than fact. An old-timer that grew up on a ranch told me they have never floated their horse's teeth with no resultant problems whatsoever. They give vaccinations, trim hooves, shoe when necessary, and treat injuries, but that's it - and their horses have always been healthy %26amp; happy. He doesn't go online much however.

Is it always necessary to have a horse's teeth floated?
It depends on the horse. Some need it done more often than others, some may not need it done at all.
Reply:In the south you very rarely see a horse getting his teeth floated. The old-timer is pretty much correct. We and others in my area do the same thing as the old-timer and our horses tend to live 30+years.
Reply:Teeth floating for horses under 10 years of age is a valuable service, every 18 months or so. Horses' teeth continue to grow throughout their lives, and will, with wear and time, develop sharp points or edges that can damage the mouth and cause the horse distress and unwillingness to eat.





After 10 years of age, the dental game for horses becomes much more complicated. It is EXTREMELY important that the incisors and molars line up and interact properly. If the teeth have been floated several times, what we call 'waves' begin to appear on the molars, which can cause the incisors not to match up. The incisors themselves also grow too long, preventing the molars from touching and being able to grind the feed.





The result is a horse who will colic any time it eats anything that hasn't already been ground up, and if left until the teeth are too bad, the horse will lose condition and go off feed totally. The solution to this problem is sedation and dental restoration using power floaters and cutters, to restore the straight edge of the molars, and shorten and adjust the angle of the incisors to their proper place.





If the incisors are too long, and there are already waves in the molars, hand-floating is actually more damaging than helpful to the horse. Of course, there are many horses who don't have much trouble with their teeth, some of it is good genetics, and the other factor is proper feed and roughage to aid in natural conditioning of the teeth.