My horse's age???

I know my horse is over 15 but I would like to know how I can get a little more accurate. How can I tell what his age is by looking at his teeth???





His papers say he is 18 but we paid someonre to look at his teeth %26amp; they said he was 26. Could his previous owners have fed him something that could have made his teeth look older than he is???





If you could, could you post some links showing drawing or pictures of horse teeth???





Thanks!!!

My horse's age???
The teeth diagrams in books are excellent for information on determining the age of a horse. Your vet is an excellent way to get the age of your (approx on both).


Your papers, are they breed association papers or are they ownership papers? Knowing the history of the horse is important and the ethic of the sellers.


Who was it who said the horse was twenty six?


Consider your sources.


Teeth don't lie....but, you do need to know what you are looking at. The Galvayne's(spelling?) Groove is a way to tell, as Amanda suggested. It starts around 10 and reaches the bottom around 20-still a guess within a year or two each way.


Also, the jut of your horses teeth, the length and how pushed out forward they are is a great indication. Length shortens and angle increases with age.


The rings on the molars disappear after the age of about 15 or so, leaving them "smooth-mouthed" that may be changed by diet, I guess, although, I don't know to what degree. But the jut, groove, and length do not lie. It is still a guess and cannot determine exact age...


Papers can be interchanged, depending on your horse and his markings....people make money off selling QH, Paint, Arab, etc. breed association papers. When a horse dies, they sell the papers to someone who needs papers on a similar age and marked horse so they can show in breed shows...papers aren't rock solid proof.


hope this info helps...check the links too....interesting stuff.


My thing is to just enjoy your horse...no matter his age, treat him great and take the best care of him possible.
Reply:well i would suggest you go get a horse health book that will show you diagrams and pictures its really alot easier when you can see from a picture cuz there are different shapes on the inside of the teeth to look for and lines as well....


maybe the person who looked didnt know how ..... thats always a possibility!!! so go get you a book and take a look its pretty interesting stuff!!!
Reply:http://www.wiwfarm.com/horseage.htm








ask your vet next check up , most can tell tell you
Reply:This is a tough one. You would have to know alot about the horses background, and then it would be an educated guess at best. If you have the official papers of the horse, I;d go by those, as there are many factors that can make a horses teeth appear older than they really are.





One of these factors is if the horse grazed in a sandy area. The sand in the grass could have worn down the horses teeth...which would give them the apearance of being older.





Also, how well the prior owners kept up with the dental health of the horse would play a factor as well.





After about the ages of 11-14, using the teeth to determine age becomes less and less accurate.
Reply:Aging by teeth is a guestimate at best, and it is judged by the shape %26amp; length of their teeth. A good guessitame way to age the horse quickly is to look at the groove that is on the last upper toot in the front of the mouth.





The groove starts at 10, gets halfway down the tooth by 15, and gets to the end of the tooth at 20.





Horses teeth can certainly get worn down or misshapen by things like wood chewing and cribbing, and might make aging a little more difficult.





If you can take a quick look at that groove, and it's somewhere between the middle %26amp; end of his tooth, then he's probably right around 18 years. If his papers say he's 18, I suppose they could be forged papers, or papers on the wrong horse, but if they are for sure his papers, then the age on them should be right.





If that groove goes all the way to the end of that tooth, he is at least 20 or older.
Reply:Horses teeth start to flaten at old age and some pop out
Reply:What's the breed? It's possible that somebody gave you papers for a younger horse. If the registry requires parent verification, you could ask them about verifiying that he is the horse for the papers through the same process they use to register foals.





If he's a gelding, not going to be used for breeding, obviously...dishonest traders can still get away with this even in registries that do DNA. (If you can find out for sure, please hold their feet to the fire mercilessly.)





Your vet can give you a general idea of his age.
Reply:the next time your vet comes out and checks your horse out get him to check his teeth for his age, then that could be your second opinion.





I have listed a website that might help you.





You can purchase an age chart like from horsetack.com or on eBay.
Reply:Count his ribs. You can have a vet do it. Horses start losing ribs as they get older. We have a horse that ribs out at 30 and she has no front teeth.
Reply:if his papers say that he is 18 then he is most likely 18. that is how he is registered, and most everyone (haven't heard of anyone who doesn't) goes by what the papers say.
Reply:maybe the vet could help