Equine Dentition AnatomyThe mouth of a horse is just as unique as its feet. The equine mouth/dentition can be divided into 5 categories:
Incisors - main function is food preparation, by picking and sorting of food from the ground. The incisors are divided into three groups, which are Central, Middle and Corner incisors. All three sets of incisor start out with baby teeth (caps) and they all erupt at different rates as the horse matures and this aids us in ageing the horse.
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Canines - are used as a defence mechanism. When a horse needs to protect itself in the wild, i.e. a stallion, they use their canines for defence. Not all horses have them and develop them. Tarter on canines is common and this should be removed on a routine dental check-up.
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Wolf teeth - The wolf tooth has evolved into a smaller tooth that generally sits just in front of the first premolar. It used to be the same size as the other premolars but evolution has developed the horses mouth to not need a large first premolar. We are still searching for a reason why evolution has done this, as the wolf tooth has not much purpose anymore. The wolf tooth is often removed if the horse is being ridden in a bit and the owner of the horse wishes to do so. This makes bits a lot more comfortable for the horse. Wolf teeth come in all different sizes and can be located in all different places of the arcade of the horse's mouth.
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Premolars - main function is grinding of foods. There are four of them in each arcade. The first premolar is a bit different to the next three; it is commonly known as a wolf tooth.
Molars – The molars main purpose is the grinding of food to create a food bolus, that is then pushed further down the horse’s mouth and swallowed. All premolars and molars have an important job of breaking down the cellulose structure of the food, so once swallowed the amino acids can be released. |
