Horses have teeth at the back?
Its one of my favourites times of the day when I get this question. Yes indeed. The horse teeth that you see when your horse is playing with his mouth, are not his only ones. Horses have 44 teeth. Ok hold on, they CAN have 44 teeth maximum if they have ALL their teeth and no extras. I will explain.
*If you look at the bottom of the page you will see coloured circles to help you identify the teeth and their place in the horses head.
Incisors: Light Blue
These are the guys that we see when the horse smiles, or tries to nip you. Yes Johan (a family member) these are the guys that got your…ummmm. yes THAT when Moccasin went for treats lol. So there are 12 of these guys and their job is to break the grass off from the ground when in his paddock and get it into his mouth. Same teeth that bite carrots, apples and fingers.
Canines. Orange
These are the stand alone guys that sit behind the incisors. Their job is to bite other horses. So if you think of back in the past where a stallion would run around with a group of mares that were “his herd”. He would be rolling on the grassy plains with his menagerie, when up trots a new male on the block looking to inherit a lovely herd of females. Suddenly a fight ensues and the canines are then sent out to make holes in the opposing stallions body. The max amount of these guys you get is 4. Although mares may not get any at all.
Wolf teeth. Pink
Much like your average Metro cop, there is no use for these teeth that we have found. What we have found is that they cause immense pain/discomfort for the horse. The reason I say that is that when the wolf teeth are in and you use the bit, you get head movement.
Now depending on the horse this can vary from mere evasion of the bit to head tossing that will leave you with a broken nose of helmet peak. I have had clients that have made me watch a whole hours lesson with a horse tossing its head so badly that the poor animals nose kept touching the peak of the riders helmet. Yes I tried to end the lesson. No they weren’t keen.
Removing the wold teeth usually stops all the pain and therefore the reaction in the horses mouth as soon as I get the teeth out. Removing the teeth is an inexpensive and very quick procedure. Done usually without the need of any sedation and with very little reaction form your horse.Again the max normally is 4. But usually your horse will only ever get the top 2 and not the lowers.
Molars. Dark Blue
Molars are the big suckers at the back. These teeth are responsible for chewing grass. They take the long pieces of grass that the horse bites off with his incisors and then crush them small enough to swallow. The molars are very large and if you get a finger stuck between them it can be a very permanent injury. Don’t do it…EVER. I was teaching a lady form an animal welfare organisation once. She was adamant that she knew how to feel molars safely. She correctly grabbed the tongue and held it out to the side. However once she had her dumb under the molars she let go. She lost her thumb nail and nearly her consciousness. Be wary of these teeth. They hurt. Molars max normal amount is 24.
How many teeth does a horse have in total?
So a horse has 44 in total. Unless the horse has supernumerary teeth. supernumerary teeth means “extra or more” teeth. So sometimes a cell in the jaw bone decides that it also want to be a tooth and grows an additional tooth. I have had 4 horses that grew extra wolf teeth. I have also had about 15 horses with extra incisors. Never seen a super canine and only 4 super molars.
Ectopic teeth: these, much like ectopic pregnancies, are teeth growing in the wrong place. I had a horse in Virginia that was named “Handlebar Harry”. He had an ectopic tooth growing out of the side of his jaw. You could pull the guy around with it!!
Any questions please feel fee to call me on 0825529917
