KL Equine Services

Do you have a horse that you’re struggling to get to gain weight?

There can be multiple reasons why you are struggling to get your horse to gain weight but one thing you can check off your list is their teeth. Horses form sharp points that can cause them to have the following issues

➡️ weight loss
➡️ abnormal chewing
➡️ dropping feed
➡️ not finishing their feed
➡️ going off feed
➡️ hay balls

When a horse has sharp maintenance points on their molars it can be painful for them to chew. Horses chew in a circle motion which naturally forms points on the outside of their upper molars and the inside of their lower molars. These points can cause horses to cut their cheeks and/or tongue if you don’t have those points addressed yearly.

This is the perfect time to get your horses yearly dental exams done so they are prepared for the winter months that are coming! You want to make sure your horse can properly chew and get the nutrition it needs to stay healthy for those cold winter days.

📩 If you would like to get your horse a dental exam please sent us a message!

Have you scheduled your horses yearly dental exam yet?

🚨KL Equine Services will be in the following areas on these dates.

August 27th - Linden

August 24th - Cross Forks

August 27th - Mountoursville

August 28th- State College/ Bellefonte

August 29th - Linden

🚙 KL Equine Services will also be making a trip to Binghamton/ Oxford NY area in September.
Dates are TBA

📍Also have a few more openings available for locals this month and the beginning of September! - Mill Hall/ Lock Haven.

If your area isn't on the schedule don't worry we still have some availability for the month of September! If you would like to schedule an appointment please send us a message!

🦷Always remember keep their mind out of their mouth 🦷

It’s about that time to send off the youngsters to get started under saddle.

Let’s talk wolf teeth

The wolf teeth are located right in front of the first molars in a horses arcade. They can be all different shapes and sizes but are generally the smallest tooth in a horse’s mouth.

A horse may have…
> one wolf tooth
> bother upper wolf teeth
> upper and lower wolf teeth
> abnormally positioned wolf teeth
> unerupted wolf teeth
any of these combinations or they can have no wolf teeth at all.

These teeth are in the position where horses carry a bit.

It’s very common for c**t starters to have issues with young horses and bits when they have these teeth. This is why it’s important to make sure you have them looked at before sending them to get started. These teeth can cause unnecessary behaviors when starting them under saddle.

If you’d like to have your youngsters looked at before sending them off to training send us a message! We would be more than happy to make sure the beginning part of their carrier goes as smoothly as possible.

They say the first 60 rides of a horses life are the most important! Make sure they are set up for success! 🤗

🚙 Do you live in these areas and have been wanting to get your horses teeth checked?
👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
- Williamsport
- Mountoursville
- Muncy
- Unityville
- Benton
- Bloomsburg
- Muncy

I will be traveling this way the week of August 12th and I have a few openings available!

📌 We are currently booking into the middle to end of August!!📌

If you haven't had your horses yearly dental exam done yet this year, send us a message and we can get you on the schedule.

Be sure your horses are feeling their very best going into the fall season. 🦷

TMJ - Temporomandibular Joint

Where the lower jaw (mandible) connects with the upper jaw (maxilla) through the temporal bone of the skull. As you can see in the pictures the TMJ can be found about midway on a straight line between the outside corner of the eye to the base of the ear on the same side.

The TMJ is technically a joint (like the shoulder, elbow, and fetlock joints) the ends of the bones are covered with a different type of cartilage.

Does your horse do any of the following ❓
- head tossing
- resisting the bridle (not accepting the bit)
- tilting the head
- sticking the tongue out
-difficultly chewing
- riding issues
> difficulty turning
> stopping
> picking up certain leads
> collecting
> sticking head straight in the air
> refusing to move
> backing up
> rearing
> bucking

These are all signs your horse could have TMJ issues.

One of the most common solutions to fixing a horse with TMJ issues is to have a dental exam done. A horse that is not properly aligned in their mouth can cause irritation to the TMJ.

Things we look for when doing a dental exam
-incisor alignment
-restrictions to allow the jaw to have fluent motion
> maintenance points
> ramps
> hooks
> ETR
All of these issues can cause your horse to have an inflamed TMJ.

If you haven’t had your horses yearly dental exam or your horse is having any of the problems listed above. Please send us a message and we will get your on the schedule.

Keep their mind out of their mouth. 🦷

Did you know❓

Adequate closure of the cheek teeth is controlled by the confirmation of the incisors. When the incisors are too long or out of alignment there are only two points of contact between the upper and lower jaw. The mouth has to be open to be able to move, which causes abnormal chewing patterns, and abnormal wear on the cheek teeth.

As you can see in this picture above this horse had a slant in its incisors. The goal of incisor realignment is to allow good closure of the cheek teeth.

Not only is it important for the incisors to be in alignment horizontally, the lateral angle of the horses incisors are just as important. The improper angle will also cause the horse to have TMJ issues. (I will be making a post about this soon.)

Horses that are kept in confinement situations, especially those that eat high-concentrated diets, may not receive enough wear on their incisors to maintain good molar closure.

Horses are grazing animals and the incisor teeth were made to rip/tear grass from the ground. Without adequate grazing times horses aren’t able to wear their incisors properly which requires incisor alignment.

📩 If you have any further questions let me know

If you haven’t had your horses dental exam yet this year please send me a message. Make sure your horses are feeling their very best! 🦷

☀️ Reminder for these hot summer days ☀️

- Provide constant access to fresh water
- Make sure the your water trough is clean
- Offer an electrolyte
- Top dress your feed with salt
- Give your horses free-choice mineral block
- Offer water breaks frequently when traveling

Keep your horses feeling their very best in this crazy July weather.

Happy July! ☀️

Have you had your horses yearly dental exam done yet?

July is booking up fast make sure to send us a message to get your horses on the schedule!

Remember keep their mind out of their mouth! 🦷

🦷 Tip

Have you ever looked in your horses’ mouth??

If you have, do you know what you’re looking at or what you’re looking for?

Let’s talk incisor hooks.

Whenever you look inside a horses mouth you will notice there are only 12-16 teeth visible without completely opening the horses’ mouth. These front teeth are called incisors and the teeth behind those are called canine teeth. Not all horses have canine teeth so don’t be alarmed if you only see 12 teeth. The canine teeth are found between the incisor teeth and the check teeth (Molars) on both the upper and lower side. These teeth were originally “Fighting teeth” for wild horses.

There are 12 incisor teeth, 6 upper and 6 lower. Their main job is to grasp and tear. Horses are grazing animals which is why making sure your horses incisor teeth can properly align and can move fluently is very important. Not only are they used for grazing, but you can also tell if your horse needs dental attention by just taking a quick peak at them to see if you horse has incisor hooks.

You can see in the picture below that there is a slight hook on the back side of the last incisor in this horse’s mouth. This is a sign that your horse needs some dental work.

These hooks on the incisors tell a dentist that the horses upper jaw is being restricted either by lower/upper ramps or hooks on their molars. When horses put their head down to graze their upper jaw should slide down to allow the incisors to perfectly align which allows the horse to properly graze. When a horse has either molar ramps or molar hooks the teeth won’t align which will cause these incisor hooks to form. This is one of the tricks I tell all my clients to check all their horses for.

Its crazy to think something so simple could tell you a lot about your horse’s mouth. All you have to do is take a peak! .

If you find that your horse has incisor hooks and you would like to make an appointment to have a dental exam or have any further questions about your horse’s mouth please send me a message or give me a call! I would be glad to give you more knowledge about equine dentistry!

Did you know ❓

A horse's incisors, premolars, and molars, once fully developed, continue to erupt as the grinding surface is worn down through chewing. Each permanent tooth is generally as long as they will be by the age 5-6 years old.

This is why it is very important to have yearly dental exams done no matter what age your horse is. Their teeth are continually changing throughout their life.

If you haven't scheduled your yearly dental exam for your horse please send me a message. 🦷

Mr. Lance got all his maintenance points taken down and is ready for the show season!

Message me to get on the schedule to make sure your horses are feeling their very best for the summer season! ☀️

I am currently booking into June!

❓ Did you know a horses upper jaw and lower jaw don’t perfect align ❓

A horses upper teeth are offset to the outside of their mouth, and their lower teeth are offset to the inner side of their mouth. This is why horses form sharp points on the inner of their lower teeth and the outer of their upper teeth. These points are called maintenance points, and can be very painful when rubbing against the cheeks and the tongue.

This is why it’s very important to get a year dental exam done on your horse!

Contact us today to get your horse on the schedule to have their yearly dental exam.

Keep your horses mind out of their mouth 🦷

🌸Hello April 🌸

Can you imagine having these sharp points against your cheeks and tongue while trying to eat?

Have you had your yearly dental exam done on your horse yet?

This picture is a perfect example of what is done when you have your horses teeth floated. On the left you can see all the extremely sharp enamel points that caused this horse to have ulcers on its cheek. These enamel points are also formed on the horses lower teeth as well. These points can cause your horse to be very uncomfortable while eating. Sharp enamel points can form over 6 months - 1 year. That is why it is very important for you to have a yearly exam done on your horse.

When a dental float is performed on your horse all the sharp enamel points are taken down so the horse can comfortably chew and have fluent range of motion through their jaw. As you can see in the picture to the right.

Just because you cant see these points doesn't mean your horse doesn't have them!!

Message us today to schedule your horses dental exam/float your horse will thank you!!!

Happy Friday! 😁
Has your horse been having any of the following issues? 🤔

🔴Weight loss / hard keeper
❌Dropping feed
🔴Foul odor from mouth
❌ Head tilting or turning while eating or riding
🔴 Rearing
❌ Playing with bit
🔴 Head tossing
❌ Fights or resists the bit
🔴 Head Shy
❌Hard to turn or "woah"

These are all signs that your horse could be having some of the following issues. Ramps, hooks, a wave, an overbite or just have maintenance points cutting into their cheeks and/or tongue. All of these can be very painful and your horse could benefit from having a yearly dental exam.

Call or message us today to schedule your horse or horses. We are fully booked for the rest or March but have some openings for the month of April. Remember to keep their mind out of their mouth.

(570)-295-1467

Herse a little 🦷 tip for all you horse owners!

❓ Did you know that a horses upper jaw is a different shape than their lower jaw?

In the horses upper jaw the molars and premolars are in a curve shape which I like to call a banana shape. While their lower jaw is more of a V shape. If you didn't know or have never noticed horses chew in a circular motion which naturally causes horses to form sharp points on the outside of the upper molars and the inside of their lower molars. We call these their maintenance points.

Over time a horse will form these maintenance points which can restrict their jaw from moving laterally. When a horses jaw can't move fluently they cant grind their food properly. Which then can lead to a variety of different issues.

➡️ dropping grain
➡️ weight loss
➡️ head tilting while eating

Horses with sharp maintenance points can even have issues in the arena as well.

🚩Does your horse gap its mouth with the bit?
🚩Does your horse fight you turning one way more than the other?
🚩 Does your horse toss its head?
These are all signs that your horse may have some maintenance points.

If you think about it if all those upper molars have even the tiniest points on them they are constantly rubbing against the cheeks. So when the horse turns its head from left to right the points go even deeper into the cheeks which causes pain. The same goes for the lower molars. A horse that has maintenance points on their bottom teeth will effect the tongue. These points can get so sharp where it will even cut the tongue. So not only are the cheeks effected by these points the tongue is as well. If you've ever had a tooth ache you know how painful it can be and we are calling our dentists as soon as possible.

Just because you cant physically see your horses teeth doesn't mean they don't have maintenance points!

If you would like to make an appointment to have a dental exam done on your horse or have any further questions about your horses mouth please send me a message or give me a call! I would be glad to give you more knowledge about equine dentistry!

Have you scheduled your horse for their spring dental exam?

🚨UPDATED- KL Equine Services will be in the following areas on these dates.

March 7th - Winfield/ Milton

March 12th- Hughesville/Unityville

March 21st- Williamsport / Trout Run

📍 Mill Hall/ Lock Haven - Have a few more openings available for locals in the month of March!

💥Don't forget KL Equine Services also offers massage therapy for your equine athletes. The season is right around the corner make sure you horses are feeling their very best!💥

If your area isn't on the schedule don't worry we still have some availabilities for the month of March/April! If you would like to schedule an appointment please send us a message!

🦷Always remember keep their mind out of their mouth 🦷

Have you scheduled your horse for their spring dental exam?

🚨KL Equine Services will be in the following areas on these dates.

February 24th - Hughesville/Unityville

February 29th - Bellefonte/ State College

March 2nd - Lewistown/ McVeytown/ Port Royal

March 21st- Williamsport / Trout Run

📍Also have a few more openings available for locals in the month of March! - Mill Hall/ Lock Haven.

💥Don't forget KL Equine Services also offers massage therapy for your equine athletes. The season is right around the corner make sure you horses are feeling their very best!💥

If your area isn't on the schedule don't worry we still have some availabilities for the month of March! If you would like to schedule an appointment please send us a message!

🦷Always remember keep their mind out of their mouth 🦷

‼️It’s almost March, have you had your horses spring dental exam done⁉️

Riding season is just around the corner make sure your horse is feel their very best to get back in shape and ready for 2024!!

Yearly dental exams are essential for all horses! Contact me to schedule an exam for your equine athletes. 🦷🐴

🦷Tooth Tip Tuesday 🦷

Did you know that a horse can have up to a total of 44 teeth???

Did you know that not all horses have all 44 and its very rare for them to have all of them. Majority of horses only have 36-38.

Here are the 5 different groups of teeth in a horses mouth.

➡️Incisors
➡️Canines
➡️Wolf Teeth
➡️Premolars
➡️Molars

The picture below is an example of the premolars/molars. Horses have 6 teeth in each arcade that you see in this picture. The first 3 are called premolars and the last 3 are called molars. These are what a horse uses to grind up their food. There are a total of 24 premolars and molars in the horses mouth.

Have you ever seen your horses molars??

Most owners have never seen these teeth because there is a large gap between a horses canines and the first premolar. These teeth are one of the most important when it comes to a horses health. Here's why ......

Horses chew in a circular motion, which forms points on the outsides of the upper molars and the inside of their lower molars. These points are called maintenance points. Almost every horse forms these points over time. The maintenance points can become so sharp that they can cut the cheeks and the tongue when chewing. They also don't allow the horse to have a full rotation when chewing which causes restriction. When a horse can't properly grind their feed, they can't get the proper nutrition from their food.

This is why its very important to have a year dental exam done on all horses!! From young to old they all have the same teeth and the same points. Just because you can't physically see your horses molars does not mean that they don't have maintenance points.

👀Stay tuned for information about the other 3 groups of teeth in your horses mouth!

📩 If you would like to make an appointment to have your horse checked or have any further questions about your horses mouth please send me a message or give me a call. I would be glad to give you more knowledge about the mouth!

☀️Spring is right around the corner! It’s that time of the year to get your horses ready for the summer show season!

‼️ It’s very important to have a yearly dental exam done on ALL horses. Make sure they are feeling good and performing their very best ‼️

✉️ Message me to schedule an appointment 😁