Your horse spends most of his waking hours chewing fibrous foods, grinding away the chewing surfaces of his teeth. But he’s well equipped for that. Equine teeth continually emerge from deep sockets within the gums. Much like pushing lead through a mechanical pencil, the tooth surfaces are continuously replaced. Equine teeth emerge from his gums at a rate of about an eighth of an inch per year. Teeth generally have enough reserve to last the horse until his late teens or 20s. 

Dental problems are more likely to occur—and worsen more quickly—in horses entering their mid to late-teen years. Why? The “reserve” of tooth under the gumline may become depleted or the toll from lifetime of grinding, or a combination of both. An older horse whose teeth looked fine in late spring may develop a serious situation by early winter.

Dental troubles can also take longer to fix in an older horse. In younger horses, teeth erupt more quickly so a veterinarian can take corrective measures, wait for more tooth to emerge and then continue the treatment. Older horses have less tooth left to work with in devising solutions. In some cases, the only option is to make the horse as comfortable as possible and adjust his diet. A horse with chronic dental problems may benefit from a change in feed. For example, you may want to switch from long-stemmed hay to a chopped forage or a complete feed. 

To learn more about equine teeth, read “What Color Should a Horse’s Teeth Be?”