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| Discussion on Rubbing Teeth | |
| Author | Message |
| New Member: Socaldug |
Posted on Saturday, Apr 5, 2003 - 1:14 pm: Hi all !I've been reading this forum for a while now and absolutely had to join. you folks are great! I havent had a horse in over 20 years and am pretty much clueless but reading/learning very quickly. This site has provided GREAT information for me, my wife, and our kids. Last month i purchased a 9 y/o polish arab. So far everything is going great. He is a playfull warm and gentle beast with adults and even better with kids; but definately has arab blood  The folks we got him from have no records on him, and claims that he most likely has not been ridden in about 4 years. We had a couple bouts of crow hopping (when first mounted) the first couple weeks, but that has magically dissapeared. Everyone that has ridden him has told us that he was definately professionally trained. (i wish i was) The "oddity" that has me wondering is a couple times a week, i see him rubbing the front of his teeth on the corral pipes. at first, it was funny as heck because he sticks his tounge out of the side of his mouth and gently glides his mouth along the rail. I worry that he may do himself damage. I had the vet do a complete physical and he was given a clean bill of health. He also said the teeth are "perfect". I was hoping that someone would have some insight into this behavior; is it a bad thing? or no big deal? many thanks! SoCal Doug |
| Moderator: DrO |
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| Member: Socaldug |
Posted on Sunday, Apr 6, 2003 - 12:51 pm: yes sir. good article!one thing i can point out is there isnt any "noise" as you mentioned. it might be that he doesnt actually rub the teeth. maybe its the upper lip (lower or inner side). i'll watch/listen more closely for this though. i only see him do this about once a week (its most likely more though when i'm at work). in reviewing the article again, i went through each item and found the following: available feed: he has a few bites of hay remaining each time we feed. i assume his eating is throttled well by this indicator. he also drinks A LOT. eats a few bites, drinks, repeats the process. there is a mineral salt block available, but is rarely utilized. social activity / pasture: i'm in "horsetown usa" every neighbor has many horses. while in his pen, he visits over the fence with a few buddies. while pastured, he can and does visit with the other nieghbors horses. a horse trail runs behind our property and he LOVES to say hello to passers by. he's turned out 4-6 days a week; normally from about noon onward till dark. i'll most likely increase this a bit. type of feed: #2 alfalfa hay and alfalfa/bermuda pellets plus 1oz proform (or superform) vitamin suppliment granual thingys. the first few weeks, we ran "triple crown complete" in lue of the pellets, as the vet recommended putting a little bit of weight back on. this was tapered off as the "sweetness" was obvious while riding/working. i do occasionally (when very cold night or after a harder days work) give him a small can of this as a "special" side order to his meals. psysiological/biochemical: uhhhhh... ok, well, we all have a little imbalance somewhere, but i'll do my best to keep him healthy other: he likes his rubber ball, is a definate "playboy" and is very social (with people, horses, and dogs). his prior environment sucked! he was out in the open, had a bully in the pen with him, terrible muddy ground condition when it rained, and had nearly no attention paid to him for a few years (this burns my butt, but he's got a good home now! i wish i could buy all this ranchers horses) i think the boredom thing might be it, i am going to be purchasing another horse in the next few months and will do what i can with boredom until then. i feel better knowing he wont become toothless any time soon many thanks for your reply!!! |
| Member: Garnet |
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