Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I have to reiterate what Dr. Garlinghouse said about teeth.   I was once asked to look at a 9 year old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding that was on its 7th owner because of head tossing - violent head tossing.   The new owner thought that a chiropractic exam was this horse's last resort.   I always check teeth as a part of my exam and I found two of the biggest blind wolf teeth, pointing sideways, that I have ever seen in a horse.   I immediately got them set up with a veterinarian who specializes in dentistry (although if I were in an area where there were qualifed, certified Eq Dent Techs working with vets or would work with me to sedate, I would use them too).   They were the biggest wolf teeth that my colleague had seen and the first that she had seen were both teeth were oriented laterally (sideways).   We followed up the dentistry with chiropractic to make sure hyoids, TMJs, atlas were were they were supposed to be and the horse hasn't tossed since.

Second, don't forget to have someone who understands the anatomy check the lingual hyoid bone and temporo-mandibular joints as well.   The area of the TMJ is poorly understood in the vet world and is one of the most neurologically active areas in the body.

Kim Henneman, DVM, CVA, CVC
Park City   UT   USA