Performance Procedures that are routinely practiced include:

 

Wolf Teeth Extraction: These teeth are vestigial cheek teeth that are commonly present in front of the 1st upper cheek teeth.  They can also be present on the lower bars.  Tradition encourages the extraction of these teeth to prevent interference with the bit.  Current veterinary standards of care indicate the use of local anesthesia before extracting wolf teeth.

 

A typical Maxillary Wolf Tooth in a juvenile horse and a large Molarized Wolf Tooth.

A Mandibular Wolf Tooth in a juvenile horse.

  Application of a Local Anesthetic before Wolf Tooth Extraction.

Wolf Tooth Extraction: The entire tooth should be extracted.

Blind (Impacted) Wolf Teeth: These wolf teeth are unerupted beneath the gums and often are positioned forwards on the bars; therefore, they often interfere with the bit causing discomfort.  Treatment requires surgical extraction.  The area is blocked with a local anesthestic. The tooth is surgically exposed (picture b) and then elevated from the alveolus (picture c).

 

Canine Teeth Reduction: The canine teeth are the fighting teeth in male horses.  (You may see small canine teeth in some mares.)  They erupt in the 4 year old and grow long and sharp as the colt matures.  These teeth serve no useful function in domestic horses, and the crowns are routinely shortened, rounded and smoothed to prevent injury to the tongue, other horses, and the horse's groom.  The described indications for this procedure are questionable, and documented cases of tooth infection secondary to this procedure have been reported.  The risk of iatrogenic tooth damage precludes the routine application of this procedure.

 

Bit Seats: The front edges of the 1st cheek teeth are rounded and smoothed to prevent the bit from pinching cheek tissues against these teeth.  While this procedure was first described over a century ago, no evidence support the performance enhancement claim for this procedure, and documented cases of tooth infection secondary to this procedure have been reported.  While Bit Seating may be advantageous in disciplines where the horse must extent its head and neck, the risk of iatrogenic tooth damage precludes the routine application of this procedure.