It’s the Dentist All Round!!

As every horse owner will know it’s important to have your horse’s teeth done at least once a year, or more regularly if advised by your equine dentist or if you spot any odd behaviour.  So often pain can be the source of so much supposed “bad behaviour” so it is best to rule out any pain sources as  quickly as possible rather than trying to mask symptoms that can lead to long term behavioural problems. 

This week it was time for Skip’s annual jabs and having had his teeth checked when I purchased him 6 months ago, with no problems identified, I decided to schedule in his annual dentistry with his vaccinations.  However little did I know it would fall the day after I would have to have my own dentistry work!  I have to say mine was a tad more traumatic than Skip’s and I was feeling rather delicate whilst waiting for Skip’s teeth to be done.  At least (I thought) that I wouldn’t need to listen to a drilling sound that had rattled round my head for an hour the previous day. 

The vet soon turned up for Skip and gave him his vaccination for the year.  He then gave Skip a little sedation as he told me about the new method they used to do teeth now.  Gone are the metal rasps that I was previously used to seeing (whilst usually hanging on the end of a lead rope trying to keep my old horse still by backing him into the stable corner!) and instead he used an electronic machine which was much more intricate.  However I couldn’t believe it when he turned it on and it sounded like the dreaded drill from my tooth rebuild the day before- I am sure the colour instantly drained from my cheeks!!

The saving grace was the fact that the sedation went straight to Skip’s head, causing quite a giggle.  He only had a little sedation and given that he is such a huge horse I wasn’t sure how much it would really affect him.  After only a few minutes he was swaying and we had to lift his heavy head to rest on the headrest.  He barely moved throughout the treatment, only to occasionally pull his head away from the headrest as if to say “please let me sleep”.  The whole process was much less traumatic for everyone involved and instead of hanging on for dear life I was laughing away at Skips sedated state.  As you can see we took advantage of his sleepiness by taken a few comedy photos… (I am sure he will get me back for that when I ride later!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the dental work was finished I left him in his stable to have a quiet snooze and after 20 minutes when I went in with a haynet he started eating again so I knew he was ready to go back out for some more grazing in the sunshine- it was a beautiful day here yesterday.

I am happy to say that Skip has seemed absolutely fine ever since and I am also feeling a bit brighter this morning…hopefully it will be more than mash potato and gravy for me for dinner tonight! I hope everyone is off out enjoying the sunshine.  I love the warmer weather and enjoyed a hard but fabulous dressage lesson last weekend- the first one when I didn’t have to wear a coat.  This weekend I am off to watch some friends at a local dressage show whilst I continue to train Skip to get him ready for his grand debut!      

Have fun with your horses x