Sharp Tooth

Nicole's new horse, Zeus, had the treat of getting his teath "floated" yesterday. Not sure why it's called that. Floating is when the vet files down any rough, sharp edges on their teeth.

As horses get older they tend to need to have their teeth floated every year of two. When their teeth get sharp, it can cut the insides of their mouths and prevent them from chewing up their food properly. Zeus was still skinnier than he should be after several months of the all-you-can-eat "buffet" we have the horses on, so hopefully this will help him put on a few more pounds.

He was mostly cooperative, but was given drugs to relax him. The contraption on his head holds his mouth open and shines a light in there. The vet is using a 14 volt cordless drill with a long extension that has a file on the end. (They used to use a big flat rasp and lots of muscle. That had to be fun! Thank goodness for power tools.) The assistant supports his head and holds his tongue out of the way.

Lucky for him, horses don't have nerve endings in their teeth. Wouldn't trips to the dentist be much easier if it weren't for those darn nerve endings?!