Horse teeth: regular dental checks and signs of trouble

How a horse's teeth grow

A dental check is one of the fixed points of routine care summarised in How to care for a horse. Merck's horse-owner manual says a horse whose teeth do not work well cannot eat properly, and its health may be at risk. A horse's teeth erupt continually: Merck calls this hypsodont (long-crowned) dentition and says eruption makes up for the wear caused by grazing. The BHS says horses are born with deep roots that shrink as the teeth erupt, and that chewing wears teeth down by about 2–3 mm a year; Merck gives about 2.5 mm a year until roughly 17 years of age.

Most horses have 24 baby teeth, says Merck. Mature stallions have 40 to 44 teeth and mares 36 to 40, because the canines, which appear at 4 to 5 years, are often missing in mares; the BHS gives 36–44. The permanent teeth are usually all in place by 5 years of age, and the mouth changes most between 2 and 5 (Merck).

The table follows Merck's horse-owner manual; Merck's professional eruption table describes such figures as "average data, subject to considerable variation". Wolf teeth are the first upper premolars; they are not always present and are sometimes found in the lower jaw too (Merck).

Why sharp edges form

A horse's upper jaw is wider than the lower, so the chewing surfaces do not wear evenly. Merck says chewing tends to produce sharp points on the outside of the upper cheek teeth and on the tongue side of the lower ones, and the Zagreb veterinary faculty describes the same pattern. Sharp edges on the upper molars can cut the inside of the cheek (Merck). In a review of equine dental disorders, Dixon and Dacre (Veterinary Journal, 2005) call disorders of wear, especially enamel overgrowths ("enamel points"), the main equine dental disorder and believe they are largely due to the dietary changes that came with domestication.

Sharp points are not the only problem. The AAEP also lists hooks (overgrown teeth), wave mouth, tooth abscesses, malocclusion and missing teeth. World Horse Welfare (WHW) says gum (periodontal) disease is probably the most common and most painful equine dental disease it comes across and the main reason horses quid (drop feed) and lose weight; the sources thus differ on which problem leads.

How often to have teeth checked

Most sources give once a year as the minimum for an adult horse but differ beyond that: the BHS says every 9–12 months, World Horse Welfare every 6 or 12 months by age, and the Zagreb faculty's web page once a year, while a paper by its clinic staff says twice a year.

None of these figures is a rule: according to WHW and the BHS, the dental practitioner can change the interval, especially for older horses and horses with abnormalities, so your vet sets it. A dental check is another regular visit alongside the farrier's (How often does a horse need the farrier?).

What happens at a check

"You cannot treat what you cannot see." (World Horse Welfare)

As the BHS and WHW describe it, the vet (or technician) first takes the horse's history (comfort when ridden, diet, signs of dental disease) and examines the head. The mouth is then held open with a speculum, rinsed and examined with a bright light, mirror and probes, and every tooth is felt for sharp points, loose and missing teeth. According to Merck, a full examination of the premolars and molars needs sedation, a speculum and good lighting; WHW adds that a horse may tolerate a rasp without sedation, but many small areas of disease could then be missed.

If the vet judges it necessary, sharp edges are smoothed; Merck calls this "floating" (rasping the teeth), aiming to remove sharp edges and keep the normal chewing surface. Whether it is needed, with what sedation and how, is the vet's decision; this article does not describe the procedure. Some problems, such as gaps between teeth or fractured teeth, need further treatment, sometimes extraction (Merck, BHS, WHW).

Signs that call for a dental check

The BHS calls horses stoic animals skilled at hiding pain, especially dental pain, and WHW says it is very common for a horse to show no outward sign of pain even with major problems. So checks should not depend on signs. Daily observation can still help: DEFRA says owners and keepers should look out for signs of dental problems. According to the sources, these may indicate a dental problem:

• slow eating, stopping and starting while chewing, and reluctance to drink cold water (Merck)
• half-chewed food dropping out of the mouth, balls of chewed food dropped by the horse (quidding), food pouched in the cheeks or chewing on one side only (DEFRA, Merck, BHS)
• head tilting or tossing, resisting the bit or bridling, and abnormal mouth movements when ridden (Merck, AAEP, DEFRA)
• weight loss or poor condition (Merck, AAEP) and unchewed grain in the droppings (Merck)
• bad breath, drooling and reluctance to be touched around the head (Merck, AAEP, WHW)

These signs are not specific to teeth. According to Merck, sharp points and uneven wear can cause problems not at first thought of as dental: mouth ulcers, choke, gastric ulcers, back pain or erratic head carriage with the bit.

Who works on a horse's teeth

For Slovenia and Croatia the table gives only the general provisions of the veterinary acts; neither act mentions horses' teeth or floating. The Slovenian Regulation on the protection of farmed animals (Ur. l. RS 63/2023, as of 29 September 2026) does require, since December 2024 (Article 53.f; our calculation), regular checks of the mouth and teeth (original: »Skrbnik redno preverja stanje ustne votline in zob zaradi zagotavljanja optimalnega prehranjevanja ali uporabe opreme brez bolečin.«) but sets no interval. It applies to farmed animals (Animal Protection Act, Article 5, point 21); if your horse is kept purely for pleasure, ask the competent authority whether it applies.

The British arrangement differs: DEFRA's English code also allows an equine dental technician who is a member of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians (BAEDT), while WHW and the BHS point out that no qualification is legally needed to rasp horses' teeth in the UK. The BHS recommends a vet, ideally equine-specific, or a technician registered with the BAEDT or a category 2 member of the WorldWide Association of Equine Dentistry (WWAED); WHW names the same two groups as recognised by vets. In the two Veterinary Acts and in the Zagreb faculty sources we read on 29 September 2026 we found no mention of an equine dental technician profession or register in Slovenia or Croatia comparable to the BAEDT; we did not search other registers, so this does not prove that none exists.

The table rests on articles 51 (point 6) and 52 (paragraph 4) of Slovenia's Veterinary Act (ZVet-1) and article 126 (paragraph 2) of the Croatian act. We checked both texts on 29 September 2026 (the Slovenian one in its unofficial consolidated version). Whether a particular dental procedure falls under these provisions is a legal question, so if in doubt ask the Slovenian Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection (UVHVVR) or the Croatian Veterinary Chamber.

The starting point is therefore a vet. The surgery clinic of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb describes dental examination and rasping on its page "Korekcija zuba u konja" (archived copy of 9 June 2023; the live page could not be reached on 29 September 2026), and its staff in a paper from a horse breeders' conference (2019). You can find vets who take horses in the vets directory (currently practices in Slovenia).

Young horses: baby teeth and the first bit

According to Merck, the mouth changes most between 2 and 5 years of age, so a check, with treatment where needed, once or twice a year matters. Shedding baby teeth can irritate the mouth, and loose, displaced or broken baby teeth can cause problems with chewing (Merck).

The BHS calls checks essential before any groundwork and especially important before the first bit. It warns that wolf teeth may interfere and cause discomfort; Merck says they may or may not be linked to bit reluctance and that extraction is sometimes necessary. Whether it makes sense is the vet's decision.

Teeth in an older horse

According to the BHS, older horses often need more regular checks and have more problems, such as decay and gaps between the teeth. Their tooth surfaces are smoother, so they grind food less well, and shorter reserve crowns can leave teeth displaced or loose, sometimes needing removal. The recommended intervals are in the table above.

A horse with worn or missing teeth may, says the BHS, no longer manage long fibre such as hay and haylage; soaked or mashed feeds help. Feeding principles for older horses are in What do horses eat?; ageing and age estimation are in How long do horses live?

Frequently asked questions about horse teeth

How often does a horse need its teeth checked?

An adult horse at least once a year (DEFRA, RSPCA, AAEP; the Zagreb veterinary faculty's web page says once a year, a paper by its clinic staff twice a year); the BHS says every 9–12 months. Young and older horses may need checks more often (WHW: every six months under 8 and over 18). Your vet sets the interval.

How do I know my horse has dental pain?

Often you cannot: horses disguise dental pain well (BHS), and Zagreb clinic staff write that signs often show only when the disease is advanced. Signs that may point to a dental problem include dropping half-chewed food, slow eating, weight loss, bad breath and resisting the bit; only an examination shows whether teeth are the cause.

How many teeth does a horse have?

An adult horse has 36–44 teeth (BHS); Merck gives 40–44 for stallions and 36–40 for mares, because canines are often absent in mares. Most horses have 24 baby teeth, which usually appear within two weeks of birth (Merck). Wolf teeth are not always present.

What is floating, and is sedation needed?

Floating (rasping) smooths sharp edges so that the chewing surface stays normal (Merck). The Zagreb veterinary faculty says the horse is as a rule mildly sedated; the BHS notes that dental checks can be uncomfortable, especially if pain is present, which is one reason for sedation (only a vet can give it by injection). The vet decides whether floating is needed and how; WHW warns that untrained practitioners can do a lot of damage.

Can you tell a horse's age from its teeth?

Most accurately up to about 5 years, and only roughly after that: eruption of baby and permanent teeth gives the clearest clues, while later several factors blur the picture and Merck calls Galvayne's groove and the "7-year hook" variable, inconsistent and of little value. See How long do horses live?

What can a horse with bad teeth eat?

For worn or missing teeth the BHS mentions soaked or mashed feeds instead of long fibre; the Zagreb clinic paper suggests, for old horses, soaking hay, grinding concentrate feed and giving high-quality hay. Your vet decides the ration; general principles are in What do horses eat?

Should I have my horse's teeth checked straight after buying it?

The BHS says it is sensible to do so as soon as possible, because the horse's history may be unknown to you and problems are important to identify. The Zagreb clinic paper calls preventive veterinary check-ups immensely important because horses very rarely show tooth pain clearly. What else to check before buying is in What you need before buying your first horse.