Questions on floating.

[Dapple Field]

For about the past 19 years my vets have power floated my horses. The vets were in WA, IA/NE, and VT, so not any one vet. My Clydesdale who is about 25 and Welsh pony who is also about 25 are both having trouble with their teeth. We have owned them since 2004 so their teeth have been power floated for about 13 years. I don't know their previous history. I've had many older horses in the past up to age 33 with no teeth issues. Last year when the Clyde was floated the vet said he is developing a wave mouth and has lost a couple of teeth. This vet has done him for 5 years since we moved to VT. What the heck?! How could he develop a wave mouth when he has been power floated every year? Losing teeth is normal for an older horse I guess, but the Clyde and the pony are the first to lose teeth in over 50 years of horse ownership and as I said before, I've had horses into their 30's with no problems. I'm starting to think that the power floating is the problem. I'm considering going to a hand float, but the only person around here who does it is not a vet. The Clyde and the pony both need to be tranquilized and I will not have a layperson tranc my horses. Any suggestions or experiences to relate??

[piedmontfields]

I agree that losing teeth later in life is pretty normal. I am not a fan of power floating, as I think it is an unsubtle way to float.

For the first time, I had a dental specialist DVM (instead of my vet) do a hand float on my mare this spring. Moreover, this was done without tranquilizers (as my vet would do with a hand float). The difference in my horse's happiness in the mouth (feel on bit) was significant.

The specialist I used was based in Florida, but travels. If you are interested to see if there is anyone in New England who travels and is recommended by this practice, contact Dr. Tucker (who went to Cornell and loves NE). He would also probably answer your question about the waves.
https://theequinepractice.com

[Chancellor]

I agree with Piedmontfields. I am not a fan of power floating. I realize that it is easier but I agree it is unsubtle (good word)

[tlkidding]

The wave mouth can be caused by the lost teeth. And horses loose teeth multiple ways. Maybe just a change in the mineral content of the area you live in, grass, or hay you feed...

My horse cracked a tooth at age 13 - vet thinks it's likely from biting down on a stone that was in the hay.

I do think as horses get older, you have to be a lot more careful about over floating. My vet will power float, but has a hand rasp to finish. I would ask your vet if they'd hand float the older horses to be more conservative since the teeth are getting short at that age.

[LeoApp]

There is nothing wrong with using power floating as a tool, but it has to be done judiciously. My vet always did a combination of power and hand floating. She said the power floating lessens the time it takes to do the float, which is beneficial to the horse because of their weak lower jaw. She said it is bad for the horse to have its jaw open for too long of a time. On the other hand, the power float can get very hot and cause damage if it is done for too long of a time.

[Sunshine2Me]

I'm pretty sure in our area only a licensed vet can administer tranquilizer to a horse.