Dentist visit

First of all, thank you all for your responses to yesterday's post about the ground pole. I was kind of feeling like a crazy person for being so angry about the appropriated pole, but your comments made me feel like my response was normal. Or at least normal for a bunch of horse people on the internet.

Anyway. The horses saw the dentist Wednesday; he's a guy I found online. Most of my friends use their vets for floating, but I was curious to try someone who was performing services as an "equine dental practitioner". I knew both Gina and Moe needed work, as my vet had advised me so when he did their annual vaccinations and Coggins tests.

The dentist was punctual and friendly; plus, he drove a Subaru, which makes for an okay person in my book. (Johnny and I are both Subaru people: I drive a Forester and Johnny has an Impreza WRX. We love everything about them except the local dealership.) After an exam, he determined Moe had a slight wave mouth, some sharp points, and some long canines. He corrected the problems he found via manual float. Moe was a superstar who required no sedation. Moe occasionally rolled an eye toward me as if to say, "What is going on?" but stood quietly and was finished quickly.

And then I cleaned Moe's very dirty sheath.

Gina's mouth was assessed as much worse than Moe's. (This was consistent with what the vet had told me earlier this year.) Gina had several steps, and had started compensating for them by chewing crookedly. Her incisors were totally slanted- even her nostrils appeared to be uneven when I looked closely. She had big hooks on her molars and a laceration on her left cheek. 

Wet from rain, not looking jazzed about dental services.

Gina was sedated and work began. She was generally pretty good, but she was not a fan of having her incisors filed. Her mouth looked far better when finished than it had previously, and while the dentist told me that cosmetically, it didn't quite meet his standards, she should be able to chew her food better and generally be more comfortable.

This is your horse on drugs.

I visited the horses yesterday; both seemed normal and happy. I was assured they'd eaten breakfast eagerly and without issue. I handled both horses' heads and mouths and no one seemed sore or touchy. I plan to ride Gina tomorrow; Moe will be ridden by a friend tomorrow evening. I don't anticipate any problems.

I'm hoping the dental work will help the two of them gain some weight and generally be more comfortable and happy!

 How often do y'all have dental work performed? Do you use a specialist or your regular vet? Has it helped your horses?