Dental care is one of the easiest parts of horse care to forget, and at the same time one of the most decisive for how your horse eats and moves under saddle. A horse that tosses its head, drools, or drops half-chewed feed is often telling you something about its mouth. Below: how a horse's teeth work, what floating involves, how often to have them checked, and which signs point to it being time.
How a Horse's Teeth Work
An adult horse has roughly 36 to 44 teeth. The key feature: they keep growing slowly throughout the horse's life while simultaneously wearing down through chewing. A horse chews coarse feed with a sideways grinding motion, and that's where things go wrong. The upper jaw is slightly wider than the lower jaw, so the outer edge of the upper molars and the inner edge of the lower molars don't wear down along with the rest. Over time, sharp edges form there, often called hooks.
Those edges can cut into the cheek or tongue. A horse with painful wounds in its mouth chews more carefully, more one-sidedly, and less thoroughly — exactly the behavior that makes the sharp edges worse. It's a cycle you break by periodically smoothing down the sharp points.
There are also age-related factors. Young horses shed their milk teeth up to around age five, and loose caps (leftover milk teeth) or emerging canine teeth can cause temporary discomfort. Older horses, on the other hand, deal with teeth wearing down or becoming loose. In both cases, checking more often than once a year is sensible.
What Floating Involves
Floating — also called rasping — is smoothing down the sharp edges with a file, nowadays usually an electric one. The goal isn't to make the teeth smooth or flat, but to remove the painful points so the horse can chew unhindered and the bit doesn't press against sharp edges or wounds.
A check usually goes roughly like this:
- The practitioner feels and looks through the whole mouth, usually with a mouth speculum and a light, so the back molars are reachable too.
- Sharp edges and hooks are smoothed down; sometimes an uneven wear pattern is corrected gradually over several visits.
- Loose caps, inflamed gums, or an abnormal bite are noted and referred on if needed.
Many horses take this calmly. Sometimes light sedation (a calming agent given by the vet) is needed, especially for the back molars or a sensitive horse. That's a common choice, not a sign that something serious is going on.
How Often to Have Them Checked
There's no fixed rule, but a workable guideline looks like this:
| Situation | Suggested Check Frequency |
|---|---|
| Healthy adult horse | usually once a year |
| Young horse (up to roughly age 5, still shedding teeth) | often every six months to a year |
| Older horse or known dental problems | more often, in consultation with the practitioner |
| Sport or competition horse ridden with a bit | annually, sometimes more often with bit-related complaints |
The actual frequency depends on age, how the teeth are wearing, and what the practitioner saw at the last visit. Never had your horse's teeth checked before? Start with one appointment and let the practitioner advise when the next one is needed. Feel free to combine the check with another routine vet visit; that saves on call-out fees.
Signs That Something Is Wrong
A horse doesn't complain in words, so you read it from behavior. Watch both eating and riding.
Around feed:
- Half-chewed feed falling out of the mouth, sometimes in little balls (called quidding).
- Undigested, whole grains or long fibers in the manure.
- Eating more slowly, tilting the head while chewing, or leaving concentrate feed untouched.
- Gradual weight loss or a dull coat with no other explanation.
- Unpleasant breath or saliva with a bad smell.
Under saddle:
- The horse tosses its head, shakes it, or resists the contact.
- Leaning heavily on one rein, or dropping behind the bit.
- Suddenly struggling to bend to one side, when that was never a problem before.
- Drooling, blood on the bit, or refusing to accept the bit.
Not every one of these signs comes from the teeth — back problems, a poorly fitting bit, or a training issue can sometimes look the same. But the mouth is a logical first place to rule out, precisely because a dental check is relatively simple and inexpensive.
Who Does the Work
Only have floating done by a vet or a demonstrably trained, certified equine dental technician. Incorrect filing does more harm than good: removing too much disrupts the grinding motion for years, and overlooking an inflammation or loose tooth lets a real problem run on.
Good questions to ask when choosing a practitioner:
- What training and certification do they have, and do they work with a vet for sedation when needed?
- Is the whole mouth examined with a speculum and light, or are only the front teeth felt?
- Do you get a short summary of what was done and when the next check makes sense?
In the Netherlands, sedation may only be administered by a vet. If an independent dental technician works without that cooperation but still wants to work on the back molars, be critical.
What It Costs
Prices vary by region and practice, but as a guideline for a routine check with floating, you can budget roughly €70 to €150, plus any sedation and call-out costs if the vet comes separately. If your horse is at a boarding stable, ask whether the practitioner does several horses in one visit; that cuts the call-out cost considerably. More extensive procedures, such as extracting a damaged tooth, fall outside this and are discussed in advance.
In Short
- Horse teeth grow throughout the horse's life and develop sharp edges; floating smooths them down so chewing and bit contact stay pain-free.
- Have a healthy adult horse checked roughly once a year, young and older horses more often.
- Watch for quidding, undigested feed, weight loss, and head-tossing or bit resistance as early signs.
- Have the work done by a vet or certified equine dental technician, not by someone without training.
Not sure whether a complaint comes from the mouth or somewhere else? Discuss it with your vet, who can include the teeth in a regular check-up. For the broader routine care picture — vaccinations, deworming, and dental care together — see the guide below.
See also: Veterinary Health Care: Vaccinations, Deworming, and Dental Care · Daily Horse Care: The Basic Routine · Level: Considering Your Own Horse