Fun Facts – about your horses teeth

Are you interested in learning some cool facts about your horse’s teeth? then read on!

Horses spend about 16 hours out of a 24 hour day eating…! and some adult horses can eat over twenty pounds of food a day! I think it’s safe to say that the horse’s teeth are 100% essential to their wellbeing. Your horse’s teeth are vital for their survival and their health can quickly go downhill when complications arise in the mouth! Let’s check out some cool facts :

Horse teeth take up more space in their heads than their brains!

Yup it’s weird but true, which brings us to our next point ⤵

A horse’s teeth grow continuously throughout his life – up to a point.

If a horse lives long enough, his teeth will eventually stop growing and get worn down to the nubs, at which point he may need to eat ” mushy/porridge-like food” or risk starvation. It’s very important that we ensure regular dental visits for our horsey friends!

A fully developed horse of around five years of age will have between 36 and 44 teeth

Male horses will have up to 44 permanent teeth in his mouth at once, and mares usually contain between 36 and 40 teeth.

Just like humans, horses have two sets of teeth in their lifetime.

The deciduous “baby” teeth should fall out by the time a horse is five years old. If they don’t fall out by themselves, they may need to be removed by the vet.

Unlike humans, horses don’t chew using an up and down motion.

They use a circular grinding motion that can wear down their teeth unevenly. This can cause pointy teeth with sharp edges -which can be really painful for the horse and will need to be filed down, or “floated,” to avoid problems such as mouth sores.

You can get a pretty good estimate of a horses age by looking at his teeth

Changes to the teeth such as the angle of the teeth, the grooves and cups on the teeth, and the amount of baby/permanent teeth can give a trained eye a good idea of the horse’s age. The video below gives you an in-depth look at aging a horse by their teeth⤵

➡ For more wonderful horsey facts click here