A horse is a grinding machine built around a moving jaw, and his teeth are not fixed pegs that simply sit in the gum for life. They erupt slowly and continuously, pushing fresh tooth into wear as the grinding surface is used up, a system that suits an animal designed to spend long hours cropping and milling fibrous feed. The catch is that the upper and lower cheek teeth do not meet in alignment, and his jaw sweeps in an oval as he chews, so some edges receive less wear than others. Enamel, the hard outer layer of the tooth, wears more slowly than the material beneath it, and the unworn edges rise into sharp enamel points, most often along the outside of the upper cheek teeth and the inside of the lower ones, exactly where cheek and tongue press during every mouthful.
The Signs You Can See at the Yard
Sharp points announce themselves through eating before they show anywhere else. He may drop partly chewed feed from his mouth, a habit called quidding, leaving damp wads of balled-up hay on the stable floor. Meals take longer, and a horse who once finished briskly now works slowly, tilts his head while chewing or lets grain spill from one side of his mouth. Head tossing, resisting the bit or becoming unsettled when ridden can follow, because the bit and the pressure of the bridle push soft tissue against the points, though ridden changes have many possible causes and belong in the same conversation rather than as proof. Weight loss across a season, despite a ration that has not changed, is another common prompt, since sore, inefficient chewing means less value taken from every mouthful. Young horses changing teeth and older horses with worn teeth often show signs sooner, which is why checks are usually more frequent at both ends of his life, with the rhythm agreed with the vet.
What Floating Actually Involves
Floating is the careful filing of those sharp points back to a smooth surface, carried out by a veterinarian or an equine dental technician with training in equine dentistry. The word comes from the float, the rasp used for the work, but modern practice often uses powered instruments in trained hands. A proper appointment starts with a full mouth examination, usually with a speculum holding the mouth open safely and a light for the back teeth, because the points that matter most sit far behind the teeth an owner can glimpse by lifting his lip. The professional also checks for loose, broken or infected teeth, uneven wear patterns such as hooks, and sores on the cheek or tongue where points have rubbed. Sedation decisions, where they are needed for a thorough and safe examination, belong to that professional setting. Floating is never a home job: the mouth is deep, the instruments are sharp, and working without a full view risks filing the wrong surface or missing the tooth that is actually causing him pain.
Keeping His Dental Record Straight
Because his teeth change continuously, last year's findings are part of this year's examination. A dental record that makes each visit count holds exactly four fields, date, who examined, findings, next check due, and a real entry might read: date, 9 May; who examined, equine dental technician working with the practice vet; findings, sharp points filed on the upper cheek teeth and a small cheek sore healing well; next check due, agreed for the following spring unless feeding signs return sooner. Between appointments, watch his eating rather than his teeth: how long a feed takes, whether wads of hay appear, whether his condition holds on the same ration. Note what you see with dates, because a change noticed in February and forgotten by May helps nobody. If dropped feed, head tossing, slow eating or weight loss appears between checks, book sooner rather than waiting for the agreed date to arrive. Keeping that record in your Pet Passport means his dental history is complete inside KinsLe and ready whenever the next examination is booked.