What healthy teeth look like on a horse. Horse teeth: anatomy, age determination
Since ancient times, the teeth of a horse have been the main feature by which the approximate age can be determined. Of course, there is no need to hope for the accuracy of the results, since the state of the oral cavity of each animal is individual and depends on many factors. Teeth are one of the strongest components of the horse's body, which they use to defend, attack and capture food.
Features of the structure of the dental system
Nature has provided for the horse to have strong teeth, since the horse's ability to feed, protect himself and the foals depends on their condition. The teeth of each animal are divided into types, each of which has individual functions and characteristics:
- incisors;
- first indigenous;
- permanent teeth.
A well-developing mare has 12 incisors and 24 molars, since the females lack canines. Stallions are distinguished by additional four canines, which do not take part in the process of chewing food.
Incisors
The four varieties combine to form the dental arch, which includes incisors, which are divided into six lower and six upper: toes, edges and middle. The hooks are located in the middle of the jaw, then the middle ones are placed between the hooks and the edges, the latter are located on the sides. Incisors are divided into milk and permanent. The latter are distinguished by a darker shade and size. Animals use incisors to attack, grab, and chop food.
In young horses, the incisors grow in a semicircle, and as they grow older, they straighten. In older horses, the incisors protrude forward, slightly changing position. Knowing these features, you can roughly determine the age of the animal.
Fangs
Only male racers can boast of the presence of four canines - two at the top and two at the bottom, but they practically do not grow in mares. In some cases, in female horses, you can find small, underdeveloped canines, which do not grow in the future.
It is impossible to determine even approximately the age of a stallion by the condition of the canines, since they can grow at either three or six years old, depending on the breed, keeping conditions, nutrition and individual characteristics. The canines grow near the incisors and, as the owner grows older, they move away from them, while the upper canines begin to wear off, and the lower ones become dull and lengthened. On this basis, an old animal can be identified.
Permanent teeth
Horses are divided into two categories:
- the first molars are premolars;
- indigenous - molars.
Premolar in horses, there are six pieces: first, milk roots appear, which are subsequently replaced by permanent ones. The process of changing teeth in a horse starts at the age of two and finally ends at three full years.
Molars - molars, or horse teeth. There are 12 of them - three on the jaw branches. They perform the function of grinding rough food. They begin to grow at different ages: the first molar appears after the first ten months of life, the second at 1.5 years, and the third at three years.
Horse changing and teething
Small horses have several hooks and canines, as well as all premolars, from the moment they are born, or erupt in the first seven days. Then other incisors grow in turn - after thirty days, the middle ones appear, and in 1.5 months - the edges. Before milk teeth are replaced with molars, young horses grow eight more molars - at 10 months and at 1.8–2 years.
After all the milk teeth have grown, they are replaced with molars - at about 2.5 years of the horse's life. At this age, the hooks and premolars change, by 3.5 years, the average ones are updated, and at 4.5 years, new edges grow. The order in which the incisors, molars and premolars are replaced allows the approximate age of the horses to be determined. Careful attention should be paid to the incisors as they are easier to inspect. In addition to the sequence of the change, when establishing age, the condition of the entire jaw is assessed.
Dew teeth and other anomalies
Horses, like humans and many animals, have dental pathologies and defects. Most often, horses are prone to the appearance of extra teeth - they are also called wolf teeth. They can grow at any age, and their appearance causes immense pain to the horse. In addition, deworn incisors, due to the lack of a pair, often cause inflammation of the gums and trauma to the oral cavity. There are two solutions to this problem:
- Wolf teeth will fall out on their own, since they do not have alveoli - special holes for placement.
- Excess molars or incisors are removed by a veterinarian.
Horses often develop cracks, chips and fractures caused by inappropriate diets, injury, or lack of proper animal care.
A strong sign that something is wrong with a horse's teeth are the following symptoms:
- the pet refuses food or eats much less than usual;
- does not allow to examine the mouth;
- cannot chew rough food;
- behaves anxious and restless.
In addition to mechanical injuries, horses are susceptible to dental diseases: gingivitis and glossitis, which occur due to damage to the oral mucosa. Caries is common in animals, especially in old age. To solve these problems, a visit to a specialist is required.
A horse's teeth are an important part of the body that helps animals survive, therefore it is necessary to monitor and take care of the condition of the pet's oral cavity. In addition, the condition of the incisors and molars can be used to determine the approximate age of the horses, which is also useful for owners.
A horse's teeth are one of the strongest parts of its body. They are used to capture, attack and defend, absorb and grind food. They can even help determine the age of a horse. What teeth does it have and how to find out how old the animal is from them - we'll talk about this and other important details further.
The horse's teeth are quite strong, as they help it to receive and grind food throughout its life, to protect itself and its offspring. According to their shape and position, they are divided into incisors, canines and molars. You will learn more about all their functions below.
amount
Important! Although the stallion has 4 canines, they do not functionally affect in any way, since they do not participate in eating food. Only the incisors are involved, with the help of which the horses cut the grass, and they chew it with the indigenous ones.
Kinds
Like any animal, the horse has four main types of teeth. Each of them performs its own functions. Together they form a dental arch: upper, lower, anterior and posterior.
Incisors
Each horse has 6 upper and 6 lower incisors: toes, edges, and middle. The toes are in the center, the middle incisors go further and, accordingly, the edges are along the edges. Incisors are also divided into milky and permanent (darker or yellow, they are slightly larger).
In youth, the incisors are arranged in a semicircle, and already at a more adult age, they straighten, and in an old horse, the teeth begin to protrude slightly forward and are located at an acute angle. Become familiar with the anatomy of the horse as a whole and with the structure and possible problems of the eyes, limbs, hooves, manes, tail.
Fangs
Fangs grow only in stallions - 2 at the bottom and at the top, they usually do not grow in mares. In rare cases, they may appear, but they develop poorly and practically do not grow. It is impossible to determine the age by the canines, since they can appear at 2 years old, and at 5 years old, and even at 8.
The canines are located near the incisors and, with age, move slightly away from them, turning away from the front teeth. Every year the upper pair is worn out more and more, and the lower one can lengthen and become dull. 
Premolars (first molars)
Premolars are considered the first root - only 6 of them grow. First, milk teeth appear, which are later replaced by permanent teeth. A shift begins at the age of 2 years and usually ends by 3 years.
Did you know? Horses not only have larger eyes than other animals, but they can still move independently of each other. The animal can see a panoramic picture. But it can only concentrate on a particular image by turning its head. Horses also see a color image.
Molars (molars)
The molars are sometimes called equine, since only these animals have 3 permanent molars on each branch of the jaw (there are 12 in total). They help to grind coarse or coarse food together with premolars.
They appear at different ages and unevenly: the first usually grows by 10 months, the second by 20 months, and the last one may appear at 3 years.
Horse teeth change
The foal has some teeth from birth or appear in the first week of life. Usually this is a pair of toes (first incisors), canines, if it is a boy, and premolars. Further in the first month, the middle incisors appear and then the edges. 
Before the milk teeth change, the foal has 8 molars, the period of their growth is 9–10 and 19–20 months of life. Replacement of teeth also does not occur immediately, but in stages. The first to change the incisors are the hooks, after which the permanent premolars grow.
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Dental care
Teeth require particularly careful examination and care. If there are diseases or problems, they can seriously affect the condition of the animal, interfere with eating, and cause pain. Teeth that grow abnormally, fragments of knocked-out teeth that can stick into the gums, worn or worn out teeth, and teeth with inflamed gums are considered problematic.
Signs of dental problems are:
- difficulty eating and chewing, excessive salivation;
- unpleasant and pungent odor from the nostrils and mouth;
- discharge with undigested food particles;
- swelling of the nose and profuse discharge;
- the animal becomes nervous, restless, and disobedient.
Since horses have a problem with teeth abrasion, which is uneven in conditions of keeping in a stable or farm, their sharp ends must be constantly filed.
Important! If the pet is restless, refuses to eat, this may indicate problems in the oral cavity. It is very important to find out as soon as possible, as horses get used to pain very quickly and afterwards may not show that something is bothering them. Examination of the teeth should be carried out regularly and regularly.
If this is not done, the pet may bite its lip or pierce the gum while chewing. Correct examination and dental care is provided by a specialist - the veterinarian has all the necessary tools for this.
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Vices and anomalies
The most common problem is extra teeth or tops. They appear at any age and cause a lot of discomfort and pain. Since they appear without a pair, they injure the oral cavity and often cause inflammation.
The tops can fall out on their own - they do not have alveoli, so the connection with the jaw is small. But most often they require mechanical removal. In this case, it is best to contact your veterinarian, as he has special equipment for this.
Did you know? Horses have a very keen sense of smell... Previously, for better control, riders and owners always lubricated their hands with aromatic oils so that the animal would not smell sweat from them. In addition, horses do not tolerate the smell of blood. Very often, horses have all kinds of cracks in their teeth, sometimes fractures also occur. The causes of this pathology can be injuries, improper care and nutrition. If the animal begins to take less food or refuses it altogether, this is one of the clearest signs of the development of painful and pathological changes. 
Often, dental problems are accompanied by gingivitis and glossitis due to mucosal lesions. Cracks on the teeth must be treated, and tooth fragments must be removed. It is best to call a specialist for this, as additional treatment with medicines and antiseptics may be needed if the lesion is large.
Caries is another problem that results from cracked teeth. If they are not treated in time, then the lesion extends not only to the teeth, but also to the pulp and gums.
The pathology is manifested by impaired chewing, bad smell and profuse salivation. Bare cavities and pits appear in the teeth.
If the teeth are affected by caries, it is best to remove them, especially if the horse is old. It is also practiced to clean the oral cavity with special cement, which removes plaque and caries.
How to determine the age of a horse by the teeth
The gradual change of teeth makes it possible to determine the age of the animal. Usually, for this you need to look at the incisors, since they are the ones that change according to a clear pattern and change very much with age.
Important! When diagnosing and determining age, attention should also be paid to the labial, lingual and rubbing surfaces. Not only teeth are examined, but also the cups, their shape and number. In determining age, they are guided by the periods of changing the dental system: the appearance and erasure of milk incisors, the eruption of permanent incisors, the erasure of their cups and changes in the shapes of rubbing surfaces. 
Milk teeth are much smaller than permanent ones (about half), they are much whiter and have the shape of scapulae (the gum fits in such a way that a kind of neck is created, like a scapula).
Find out what are the distinctive features of horses of the breeds: Soviet heavy truck, Trakehner, Frisian, Andalusian, Karachaev, Yakut, Falabella, Bashkir, Orlov trotter, Appaloosa, Tinker, Klepper, Altai, Don, Hanover, Terskaya.
In the first 2 weeks of life, the foal develops milk cutters (the upper ones appear faster than the lower ones). At the age of 1 month, the middle incisors erupt, and by 7 months, the extreme ones appear. The cups on the toes wear off by 1 year of age, on the middle incisors - at 12-14 months, and at the extreme - after 2 years.
By the age of 2.5, the milk incisors begin to fall out and are completely replaced by the permanent teeth by the age of 5. On the lower toes, the calyx is erased in 6 years, on the middle incisors in 7 years, and in the extreme ones by 8 years. 
On the upper teeth, the cups wear off a little more slowly, usually in 9 years on the toes, about 10 years on the middle incisors, and sometimes it takes more than 11 years for the surfaces to wear off on the edges.
Did you know? In ancient times, white horses were sacrificed to the god of the seas, Poseidon. He was considered not only the patron saint of the seas and oceans, but also the creator of the horses themselves. The animals were drowned in the sea and believed that it would bring good luck. When determining age, it is also important to take into account other factors, such as, for example, that in pregnant mares the change of teeth is delayed, a dry climate can accelerate the change of teeth, and roughage contributes to their greater wear.
Teeth are one of the most important organs in a horse. It is necessary to monitor their condition and treat diseases in time.
Types of teeth
The horse has several types of teeth, depending on their shape and purpose.
The structure of a horse's tooth implies the presence of a cavity consisting of mucous tissue with nerves and blood vessels. The necessary nutritional components penetrate into the dentin from the blood of the pulp vessels. The hidden half of the teeth that go into the gum is called the root, and the visible half is called the corolla.
As the horse's teeth wear off, the gray enamel will push inward and will be shaped like a bottle. Sawing off the washable parts, you can see whitish enamel and a gray bone substance. At the calyx, the greatest depth is reached at the highest incisors.
Determining the age of a horse by the teeth is the most accurate among all other similar methods. To find out how to determine the age of a horse, take into account that up to 6 years old the shape of the incisors is oval, at 7-12 years old it is erased and rounded, and after 12 years it takes on a triangular shape. Dental formula of a horse: I3C1P3M3 / I3C1P3M3 × 2 \u003d 40. When asked how many teeth a horse has, one can answer that stallions should have 40, and mares - 36. Their number may vary.
Horse teeth shape
Depending on the shape, there are several types of horse teeth. Distinguish between incisors and molars. There are 6 incisors in the upper and lower rows. In the middle there are hooks, then there are middle incisors and edges are placed along the edges. At a young age, the incisors are arranged in a semicircle, but as they grow older, they straighten. In older animals, the incisors protrude slightly forward and are placed at a pointed angle.
The molars (molars) are also called equine teeth. They are needed for chewing rough or large food. Each of the jaw branches has 3 such molars. The first is formed at 10 months, the second - at 20, and the last - by three years.
Premolars are the first molars. There are 6 of them. Initially, they are dairy, but then they are replaced by permanent ones. The shift starts at 2 years old and lasts about a year.
Fangs are found mainly in stallions, but they are rarely found in mares. It is impossible to find out the age of the animal from them, canines can form at almost any age. They are placed near the incisors and gradually move away from them over the years. The upper pair wears out more and more with each one, while the lower one becomes dull and increases in length.
Horse changing and teething
Most foals are born toothless. The first milk teeth, or hooks, are cut in the first week of the animal's life. After that, middle teeth are formed, and closer to the 9th month of life, edges appear.
Milk teeth completely change to permanent at about 5 years of age. At 1 year old, the horse has temporary incisors, and at 2-3 years, instead of the central incisors, permanent ones are formed. By the 4th year of life, permanent middle incisors are formed, then the edges. The most extreme incisors change later. In stallions, milk teeth erupt at the age of 6 months and change at the age of 5 years.
The period of change and eruption can vary depending on various reasons and factors. In particular, they include:- breed of animal;
- kind of feed;
- individual characteristics of the horse.
Dental care
- fragments of knocked out teeth stuck into the gums;
- inflammation;
- improperly growing teeth;
- their wear and tear.
- unpleasant odor from the nostrils and mouth;
- nervousness, failure to follow the rider's orders;
- problems with chewing food, increased salivation;
- the presence of undigested food pieces in the manure;
- discharge from the nose, swelling.
Horses kept in stables do not eat like grazing animals. Their teeth are unevenly erased. It is necessary to saw off their pointed ends, with which animals can cut or bite the lip.
Diseases of the teeth and treatment
The main disease in the horse mouth is pumps. They develop when the upper jaw is wider than the lower one. Because of this, the teeth begin to wear off not as expected, the mouth is filled with pointed edges. The animal becomes painful to chew food, and it swallows it whole. In the mouth, due to incessant cuts, non-healing sores are formed, which constantly increase in size.
This disease complicates the exploitation of the animal. When pulling on the reins or reins, the damaged parts of the mouth are pressed against the gums. This causes unbearable pain in which the horse becomes almost unable to follow the commands of the rider.
It is necessary to constantly monitor the process of forming pumps to prevent it. If they have already appeared, then you need to cut off their sharp edges. It is not possible to correct the irregular shape of the animal's jaws for physiological reasons.
Some horses grow teeth in their mouths where they shouldn't be. They are called tops. They are of no benefit and only cause severe bite pain. They also affect the formation of pumps. It is impossible to cure this defect, so it is customary to remove tops.
With persistent trauma to the mouth, rot and tooth decay can occur. In particular, the boneless space near the first root is constantly affected by iron. An ulcer forms at this site, which, if untreated, provokes inflammation of the periosteum. This, in turn, will cause the jaw to rot. It will be possible to determine this by the tumor, unpleasant odor, compaction of the jaw, the changed behavior of the animal.
This disease is treated surgically. Below the place of decay, a cruciform incision is made and all remnants of dead tissue are removed. The wound is washed and cleaned, and the resulting hole is tamponed. Gradually, it is overgrown with new tissue.
Age-related variability of the organism is most clearly expressed in changes in the dental system, which is used to determine the age of a horse.
Teeth are a product of epithelial tissue. The basis of the teeth is dentin, a derivative of connective tissue. Dentin is covered with enamel on all sides - a hard, durable, shiny substance that protects teeth from rapid abrasion. The tooth surface and enamel folds on the rubbing surface are covered with cement. Cement is produced throughout the horse's life by the periosteum of the alveoli, which contains the tooth. The cavity of the tooth is filled with pulp rich in blood vessels. Pulpa gradually atrophies with age, and the dental cavity is filled with cement.
At the tooth, a free part is distinguished - a crown and a root located in the alveolus of the jaw. In the center of the crown of the incisor teeth, the enamel forms a deep fold called the calyx (Fig. 6). The depth of the cup for the permanent incisors of the lower jaw is 6 mm, and for the upper incisors it is 12 mm. When chewing food, the tooth is gradually erased and pushed out of the jaw, and the released space of the alveoli is filled with cement.
By the time of appearance, milk and permanent teeth are distinguished. The milk tooth differs from the permanent one in shape, size and color. At the transition point of the crown to the root, the milk tooth has a sharp narrowing, which is called the neck. The root of a milk tooth is thinner and shorter than the root of a permanent tooth. Permanent teeth are wedge-shaped, they are much larger in size and darker in color.
The following types of teeth are distinguished in a horse: incisors - toes, medium, edges. They are located in the front of the upper and lower jaw with six teeth each. Canines are found only in stallions and are located next to the incisors, two in each jaw. In mares, they are an exception and are usually underdeveloped.
Next to the canines, each jaw has a toothless space called the toothless edge. The molars are six pairs on the upper and lower jaw. The front three pairs of molars are milk teeth, they are replaced by permanent ones and are called premolars. The back three pairs do not change and are called molars. The dental formula of a horse (stallion) is as follows:
Determination of age is based on knowledge of the patterns of changes in the dental system: the appearance of milk teeth, the erasure of cups on them, the change of milk to permanent ones and the erasure of cups on permanent teeth, a change in the shape of the rubbing surface.
The appearance of milk teeth. Foals are born either without teeth at all, or with erupted toes. If the foals were born without teeth, then the eruption of the toes occurs during the first or second week of life, that is, on the 7-14th day.
The second pair of deciduous teeth - in the middle - appears between the 15th and 45th day.
The third pair of milk teeth - the edges - appears at the age of 6-7 months.
Significant fluctuations in the timing of the appearance of milk teeth are explained by the level and quality of feeding the mare during the fertility period.
Erasing the cup on milk teeth. After the appearance of all milk teeth, the age of a foal and a young horse is determined by erasing the cup on them.
On milk hooks, the cup is erased on average by 10 months, on average by 12 months and on the edges by 15-24 months.
Change of milk teeth to permanent ones. By the age of 2 1/2, under the pressure of developing permanent teeth, the milk hooks of the upper and lower jaw fall out, and permanent ones appear in their place. By the age of three, permanent holds have reached their normal size, or, as they say, flattened out. At 3 1/2 years old, the dairy ones are replaced and by the age of four they level off. At 4 1/2 years, the milk edges fall out and by the age of five the permanent teeth are aligned.
Erasing the cups on permanent teeth. It has been found that an average of 2 mm of a tooth is erased annually. Consequently, the complete deflation of the calyx on each pair of incisors of the lower jaw occurs at three years, and on the upper - at six years. Knowing this regularity, it is easy to determine the age of the horse by erasing the calyx on various pairs of permanent incisors.
The first pair of permanent incisors is leveled by the age of three, and from that time on, it begins to wear out 2 mm annually. It will be completely erased on the toes of the lower jaw by the age of six.
By the age of seven, the calyx on the middle incisors of the lower jaw will be erased, and by the age of eight - on the edges of the lower jaw. At the age of 9, the cup on the upper jaw hooks will be erased, at the age of 10 - on the middle upper jaw, and at the age of 11 - on the edges of the upper jaw.
Changing the shape of the rubbing surface. In a young horse, the shape of the rubbing surface of the incisor teeth is transverse-oval: the length of the transverse axis of the tooth is more than twice the longitudinal one. As the tooth wears off, the shape of the rubbing surface changes, the transverse axis decreases, and the longitudinal axis increases. The shape of the tooth, in which the transverse and longitudinal axes are approximately equal, is called round. Subsequently, the transverse axis is shortened even more, and the longitudinal axis is lengthened. The ratio of the transverse and longitudinal axis, equal to about two to three, characterizes the triangular shape. With a further shortening of the transverse axis and an increase in the longitudinal axis, with a ratio of one to two or more, a back-oval shape of the rubbing tooth surface is formed.
After erasing the cups on the permanent teeth of the lower and upper jaw, that is, after 11 years, the age of the horse is determined by the shape of the rubbing surface of the incisor teeth of the lower jaw.
At 12 years old on the lower jaw hooks, at 13 years old at the middle and at 14 years old on the edges of the lower jaw, the rubbing surface acquires a rounded shape. By the age of 15 on the hooks of the lower jaw, at 16 years of age at the middle, and at 17 years of age on the edges of the lower jaw, the rubbing surface becomes triangular. From the age of 18, the hooks of the lower jaw, at the age of 19 - the middle and at the age of 20, the edges of the lower jaw acquire an inverse-oval shape.
Along with the change in the shape of the rubbing surface and the size of the tooth, the closing of the teeth of the upper and lower jaw changes. The dental arcade in a young horse closes at an angle close to a straight line; the older the horse, the sharper the angle of closure of the dental arch (Fig. 18).
There are also additional signs for determining age, such as erasure of the calyx mark.
The bottom of the calyx consists of enamel that is harder than dentin. After the cup has already been erased, a wide enamel base appears on the rubbing surface - the trace of the cup. Due to the greater hardness, the trace of the cup wears off more slowly than the surrounding dentin, and therefore rises above the main rubbing surface. The calyx mark disappears on the toes of the lower jaw at the age of 13, on the middle ones at the age of 14, and on the edges at the age of 15.
The root asterisk also serves as an additional indication of age. The root asterisk is the remainder of the pulp. It appears on the hooks in the form of a dark-colored strip between the calyx mark and the anterior edge of the tooth at the age of 7-10; becomes short and wide at 10-12 years old, oval at 13-14 years old and round at 15-16 years old. Then it takes the shape of a triangle, which is further extended longitudinally. The root asterisk does not disappear from the rubbing surface of the tooth until the end of the horse's life.
When examining the horse's teeth, stand on the left side of the head. The right hand is inserted into the mouth through the toothless edge, the tongue is taken with the index and middle fingers of the right hand and taken to the side. With the left hand, they fix the position of the head in an elevated state, holding it by the back of the nose and upper lip. Usually, when pulling the tongue out of the mouth, the horse opens its mouth, making it easy to examine the surface of the teeth.
From 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 years old, there is no need to open the horse's mouth when determining age by teeth. It is enough to lift the upper or lower lip.
When examining the teeth to determine age, attention should be paid to the correct closing of the upper and lower jaw. With poor feeding and maintenance at a young age, the horse sometimes becomes ill with rickets. As a consequence of rickets, there may be an underdevelopment of the lower or upper jaw. A horse with an underdeveloped (shortened) jaw does not erase the teeth correctly.
Incorrect erasure of teeth also occurs with chronic lameness. Usually, the teeth located on the side of the diseased limb are worn out more, which makes the jaw twist.
Some horses, when they cook for a long time in the stable and are fed with a small amount of roughage, begin to gnaw at the feeders, partitions and walls of the stables. Gradually, they have a stable defect - a bite. Horses with a bite will prematurely erase their incisor teeth, making it difficult to correctly determine age by teeth.
There are also individual characteristics in the change of teeth in horses: premature wear, increased strength of teeth - resin teeth. The erasure of such teeth is much slower than normal teeth. Horses with extra strong teeth are usually highly efficient.
Teeth are bone-enamel organs for gripping and crushing food. Horse teeth differ in that:
- they are all long-coronal (both incisal and root);
- in males, as a rule, canines are located between the incisor and molar teeth; in females, canines may be an exception;
- incisal teeth 6 lower and 6 upper. Molars - 24 and 4 canines in a stallion or gelding. Thus, the stallion has 40 teeth, and the mare has 36, since it does not have fangs.
When closing, the chewing surfaces of the incisor teeth coincide. The chewing surfaces of the molars are beveled, and the chafing of the feed occurs not only with the lateral movements of the jaws, but also with their compression. The cheek edges of the chewing surface of the upper molars are sharpened from the side of the cheeks, on the lower edges of the chewing surfaces facing the tongue are sharpened. It is possible to injure the cheeks and tongue with teeth (in horse breeding, it is recommended to periodically blunt the sharp edges of the molars with a special rasp).
The chewing surface of the teeth in horses is folded. In the process of erasing, the teeth move out of the dental alveoli, while the shape of the rubbing surface and the angles of closing of the incisal teeth change.
In the formulas, the teeth are designated by the first letters of the international nomenclature: incisor teeth with the letter I - Incisivi, canines C - Canini, P - premolars, Premolares, presenting, first molars, M - Molars, Molares, grinding, cheeks. Molars have no dairy predecessors.
The number of upper teeth on one side of the mouth strip is indicated in the numerator, the number of lower teeth - in the denominator.
Horse Teeth Formulas:
- dairy - I 3 C 1 P 3 / I 3 C 1 P 3 × 2 \u003d 28,
- constants - I 3 C 1 P 3 M 3 / I 3 C 1 P 3 M 3 × 2 \u003d 40.
Foals born without incisor teeth on the surface of the oral mucosa. There are low teeth of milk premolars. Through 5-10 days after birth, the labial edges of the hook teeth appear on the surface of the mucous membrane.
Aged 30-40 days the middle milk incisors are cut, the crowns of the milk premolars rise above the gums. Aged 6-7 months the edges are cut.
IN 10-12 months the first permanent molar (fourth molar) is cut. The cups on the milk hooks and often on the middle incisors have worn off.
The pattern of the root asterisk (dentin) varies from elongated-nude-oval to round and dotted: at 7 - 10 years, the shape of the root asterisk is in the form of a strip; at 10 - 12 years old - a shortened strip; at 13 - 14 years old - oval; at 15 - 16 years old - the root star-daughter is rounded and is located in the center of the rubbing surface.