2018 Miniature Horse World Magazine FALL- Volume 34, Number 6 | Page 32

D
T
e
e
eth !
s
o
h
T
,
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O
The little mare’s owner brought her to
me for training and it was clear from her
extreme aggressiveness (as soon as you
touched her) that she was in pain. She was
doing all she could to protect herself from
people. Her teeth were very bad- almost
facing outwards- instead of up and down.
She peacefully crossed the rainbow bridge.
id you know that Miniatures have
the same number of teeth as a big
horse and the teeth themselves are
the same size?
We all need to be reminded, just how
important it is for all horses and ponies to
see a dentist regularly, especially before any
problems arise.
The other Mini was seen by a vet who
was horrified by his teeth. Due to other
issues he was also put to sleep. The owner
wanted to raise awareness of how important
dentals can be and the vet donated the skull
(pictured below) to us after seeing our post
on Facebook and the outcome of these two
helpless Minis.
It is recommended that young horses first
see a dentist at 8 months old- just to make
sure everything is as it should be. In the
case of these two Minis I saw personally, an
early checkup might have saved them from
years of suffering or even just one dental
check over the years could have revealed just
what a mess their little mouths were.
What is possibly the most
overlooked part of equine health
care? Dental checkups! Your Mini
should see a horse dentist at least
once a year. And when you make
that appointment, check your
veterinarian’s dentistry credentials,
not every vet specializes in teeth.
Find one who does, with the most
experience with Minis if possible.
By Jessica Crowden
Just look at the size of this tooth that was
extracted from a 31.5 inch Miniature. It is a
fact that Minis have just as many teeth as a 16
hand horse and the teeth are the same size as
well. Breeding smaller horses with smaller skulls
creates much less room for all those teeth.
Both of these Minis presented much the
same, with aggression towards people.
Both had only been with their owners a
short time and had been passed around to
a number of homes before ending up with
owners who knew something must have
been triggering their bad dispositions.
Founder?
Don’t let your mini suffer
even one more day!
For more information or to place
your order call 855-44CINCH
or view our website
www.hoofcinch.com
The Hoof Cinch applies pressure to
the hoof wall forcing it to realign
with the coffin bone. 
n S
 tops the pain quickly 
n Works with or without shoeing 
n Painless application
n Easy to apply
 Only $60 per set + S&H
30 Miniature Horse World
FA L L 2018
This photo shows a large horse skull on the
left and a Miniature horse skull on the right.
Notice the double row of molars in the photo
on the right. This is fairly common in the
Miniature horse breed. The skull was donated
to us to be used as a form of visual education
for others to be reminded how important
it is to have Miniatures seen by a dentist
or veterinary dentist. So tragic that many
horses are out there now who might also be
showing manic or aggressive behavior all
because of pain due to very bad teeth.
Please share this information and educate
the Mini owners you come into contact with
about just how vitally important dental visits
are for their Minis and having teeth checked
on a regular basis is for all horses and ponies.