Understanding how dental health deteriorates in aging horses, the welfare consequences of dental disease, and the management approaches that preserve quality of life in senior equines.
Senior horse dental welfare is one of the most preventable causes of welfare deterioration in aged equines. The connection between dental health and nutrition is direct — horses with inadequate dentition cannot extract adequate nutrition from hay, the primary dietary staple. This creates a progressive welfare cascade: dental disease leads to inadequate nutrition, which leads to weight loss and immune compromise, which leads to additional health problems. The welfare priority is systematic dental monitoring at 6-month intervals to catch developing problems before they produce clinically obvious deterioration. Horses whose teeth can no longer process hay can maintain excellent welfare with appropriate soft diet alternatives — the welfare failure occurs when dental disease is detected only after significant nutritional deterioration has occurred.