Sanctuary Life
A dentist visit for the ponies
Just like us, the ponies don’t like having to visit the dentist. It is a little bit easier though because she comes to them. It’s still quite an ordeal for them but has to be done or else they wouldn’t be able to eat without difficulty.
The teeth of a horse get rough and uneven unless they are constantly eating rough food and grinding them down. Our domestic ponies do have hay but also soft food and grass to eat, it isn’t the same as if they were in the wild and eating stalks and fibrous forage.
If their teeth aren’t rasped regularly (every six months or once a year is recommended) sharp edges may dig in to their gums and stop them from eating.
So do they stand politely and it’s ‘open wide’ please? No, I’m afraid not, they have a contraption pout on their head which holds their mouth open so that Niki our wonderful dentist can do a check-up and rasp the sharp bits without getting her fingers bitten off.
It only takes a few minutes and all the ponies were well behaved except for …… yes, Bridget the Fidget was naughty as usual, she is the youngest in the herd and has a bit of an attitude problem. We put some sedative on her gums (a bit like a dental injection) and it stops her feeling anything. She still makes a fuss though!
Also Ruby has to have the gel because her mouth is slightly uneven and she feels discomfort when it’s ‘open wide’ time. She is a good natured girl though so once she can’t feel a thing she stands placidly.
Thankfully there were no real problems, they are all in good shape and don’t ;need to be seen again for another year.
Next, it’s the turn of the medium sized pony herd and then it’s the big guys – now they can be a problem!
Main picture copyright B.W. 2016
Bridget telling Sundance all about it!