ridecamp@endurance.net: dentistry, bit fit

dentistry, bit fit

Laney Humphrey (laneyh@mbay.net)
Wed, 03 Dec 1997 08:43:22 -0800

Hi all! I spent the last 4 days at a Ray Hunt Horsemanship clinic. I
learned a lot and became a believer that my horse and I can actually be a
team. But, in addition to what we learned from Ray, we were given a
marvelous and unexpected gift of knowledge which I want to share.
An Equine Dentist named Gary Biggerstaff, Spartanburg South Carolina
(864-474-3412)has been attending Ray Hunt's clinics for a number of years;
Ray highly recommends him & has Gary to talk about the need for horse
dental care at his clinics. As a result, I think Gary treated virtually
every horse in attendance at this clinic. (He has such a wonderful way of
working WITH horses that de is able to do all but the most involved work
without tranquilizing the horse.) As he says, even Ray Hunt's methods can
only go so far in helping a horse move correctly and softly if his mouth
hurts (& even small points can lacerate the cheeks and tongue).
Here is the gift: when he was working on my horse, Dudley, he mentioned
that Dudly has a flat palate. This means that the roof of his mouth is
flat and low instead of high and arched. Gary went on to say that a
regular jointed snaffle hits the roof of his mouth & is very painful. No
wonder Dudley has been less than willing to work off the bit and throws his
head up! Gary recommended a 3 part snaffle or straight bar bit or even a
bosal. I'm making a bee-line for my nearest tack store today & I'll keep
you posted.
Happy trails, Laney

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