Horse dental health directly affects eating, welfare and performance — regular dental examination is one of the most neglected yet impactful equine welfare interventions.
Equine dental welfare is directly connected to every aspect of a horse's wellbeing: a horse that cannot eat comfortably loses weight, drops feed, and reduces intake of roughage needed for gut health. A horse in bit contact with sharp dental hooks or ulcers experiences oral pain throughout training sessions that owners often misattribute to evasion or laziness. Regular dental examination and floating prevents the progressive worsening of dental conditions that lead to significant chronic pain and quidding. The relatively modest cost of annual dental examination is outweighed by the welfare benefit and the production quality improvement in working horses.