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  Discussion on Canine teeth and testosterone level in mare
Author Message
Member:
lilly

Posted on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 2:42 pm:

Today I had my mare worked on by an equine dentist. During the process she had a very tiny canine tooth removed. It came out really easy and was located on the bottom jaw. The dentist made the comment that mares that have canine teeth like this will usually have higher than normal testosterone levels. Is this true? Ann
Member:
mrose

Posted on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 4:05 pm:

Maybe some of the others have heard of this; I haven't.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 12:44 pm:

It is an interesting thought, and can see the reasoning, but I do not know of any scientific work to back it up. I do see some problems with it however. I have never seen any work where horses gelded early develop fewer canines than stallions do. But this does not rule it out as a possiblility, a great project for a young student I would say. Here is some further reading:

Anat Histol Embryol. 2003 Aug;32(4):212-7.
Phylogeny, form and function of canine teeth in the horse[Article in German]

Vollmerhaus B, Roos H, Gerhards H, Knospe C.
Institut fur Tieranatomie und Chirurgische Tierklinik der Universitat Munchen, Veterinarstrasse 13, D 80539 Munchen, Deutschland.

The canine teeth of the horse developed phylogenically from the simple, pointed, short-rooted tooth form of the leaf eating, in pairs living, Eocene horse Hyracotherium and served up to the Oligocene as a means of defense (self preservation). In the Miocene the living conditions of the Merychippus changed and they took to eating grass and adopted as a new behavior the life in a herd. The canine teeth possibly played an important role in fights for social ranking; they changed from a crown form to knife-like shape. In the Pliohippus the canine tooth usually remained in male horses and since the Pliocene, it contributed to the fights between stallions, to ensure that the offspring only came from the strongest animals (preservation of the species). Form and construction of the canine tooth are described and discussed in detail under the above mentioned phylogenic and ethologic aspects.


DrO
Member:
lilly

Posted on Friday, May 4, 2007 - 2:50 pm:

Thanks for the info DrO. The tooth was removed quite easily and is the size of a child's baby tooth - very small. The dentist has it documented as a 3/4 canine. She had suggested it may explain some of my mare's behavior. Isabella is a good mare but will continually test my authority. The third time I rode rode, after purchase, she stopped and refused to move. She even threw in a few bucks. The next ride I carried a dressage whip and my trainer stayed on the ground with a lunge line. She bucked once and we encouraged her on and the problem pretty much cleared up right there. She does not buck with me anymore but she will try with anyone new riding her. She also tries to drag me around on the lead rope and likes to give me ugly looks like she is going to bite. Her good points are that she behaves while I am on her back and she spooks at almost nothing. I am currently riding dressage-bareback. Oh, more info...Isabella is an 11 year old Belgian/QH and had her first foal last year - a colt.

Ann
Member:
mitma

Posted on Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 3:07 pm:

Ann and Dr. O,
I'm not sure I understood this issue, but I'm interested because my 3 yo BLM mustang mare just had 3 canine teeth removed and one of them was rather massive compared to the other two. My vet commented that sometimes horses have more than two and that sometimes there is a size discrepancy, but nothing more... So, Ann, it sounds like your vet was implying that it's unusual for a female horse to have canine teeth; is that true?? You described the size of your mare's canine as being similar to a human baby tooth, "very small", but my mare's smaller two were a bit larger than a baby tooth, and the 3rd larger one was about 3/4" in length and maybe 1/3" maximal diameter... much larger than any human tooth! BTW, this is my mare who has repeatedly chased all of my newer ex-PMU mares, including a rather large, dominant one... go figure???
Martha
Member:
lilly

Posted on Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 7:42 pm:

My understanding was that this was an "extra" tooth. I haven't looked at an anatomy diagram to see how many canines are normal for a mare. The dentist left me with a sales receipt that has a diagram of the horses jaw. There are little squares representing the teeth and there was no "little square" where this tooth was removed. The dentist just penciled in 3/4 canine.

Ann
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2007 - 7:57 am:

The article diagrams the eruption dates and position of these teeth. In over two decades of practice I have never had need to remove a canine. It does not lie where it will interfere with the bit though I have seen horses where there is a problem removing the bit from the mouth, the horse raises its head closes its mouth then the bit hangs on the canines. It is almost like they can't let it go. Canines are more prevalent in male horses but you find them in mares too.
DrO
Member:
mitma

Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2007 - 4:42 pm:

Well, I was confused! Ann, when you said "canine", I thought "wolf teeth", and those type are what my mare had removed, not canine teeth. OOPS!!! After reading Dr. O's article on equine dentistry and studying the dental diagrams, I'm up to speed! Since my mare is only 3, it appears that it would be unusual for her to have any canines yet... but, it sounds like the fact that she had a 3rd wolf tooth may have been the more unusual issue??? Finally, it does make sense to me that the presence of canine teeth in female horses might be a testosterone driven process, since, I gather that canines were used in male-male "posturing" or defense during prehistoric times...
Martha
Member:
lilly

Posted on Sunday, May 6, 2007 - 7:35 pm:

Very interesting Dr.O, I have a rather difficult time getting the bit out of Isabella's mouth. 95% of the time she will throw her head in the air instead of letting the bit gently fall out. I just assumed that was her nature. She has not had a bit in her mouth since the tooth was removed. Hopefully I can ride her Wednesday.

Ann
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