Teeth checking phobia

[louiseh78]

Hi all
I hope I'm not posting too much but people were so helpful with my last issue that I would some thought on another problem I have.

My horse has a bit of a phobia about having his teeth checked. I think this may come from some severe mouth pain he must have had when I first bought him. He has a parrot mouth and had some very sharp teeth. He has always seen the dentist, initially 6 monthly and now yearly.

When I first got my boy it was my riding instructors decision that he should be placed in the restraining pen for all dental and oral worming. I hated seeing this fear in him so I decided that from that day on, I would worm him and prepare him for the dentist. It takes time but I do manage to get my hand in his mouth for the wormer or dental gag. The first time it took a long time but I managed to keep him calm.

What I would really like to be able to do is to check his teeth or mouth on a regular basis without him feeling frightened or putting him through any unnecessary stress.

Can anyone give me a graded approach to help him realise that it's not always going to be something horrible when I touch his mouth.

He is fine having a bit in his mouth. I am gentle and calm and he responds well to this and realise I won't hurt him but a check of the mouth sends him backwards and upwards!!

Thanks for your time.

[ladyndibs]

I'm not particularly experienced so hopefully someone with more knowledge will have some good suggestions but I did wonder about the dental gag, can you get it in his mouth without a major problem?
If you can I would just work on that for now but only keeping his mouth open for a couple of seconds then releasing it then open it again and release but only open it a small amount each time, when he's fine with that perhaps next time either keep it open for a couple more seconds or widen it slightly more. You know your horse better than anyone so you are probably able to tell how much he can cope with without being stressed.

I have a sensitive mare and along with all her other issues has a gap between her front teeth so I need to clean them everyday and run a tooth pick down the gaps. The first day I was a bit nervous so I put a headcollar on her and actually held her quite firmly, she's a very buxom 15.3 (I'm 5'2) and pushed her top lip up and cleaned her teeth, the next day I didn't hold her so firmly but she very quickly got to the stage where I could just walk up and lift her lip and clean her teeth, the only time she's not very co-operative is if I've just moved the fence and there is fresh grass even so I'm still able to clean them pretty much any time I want. I'm sure with your attitude and open minded approach you'll very soon find a way that works for both of you but don't forget to share it, you never know when someone else's tips and hints will come in handy.

[louiseh78]

Hi ladyndibs
Thank you for your reply. I can get the gag in without too much fight (gag supplied by dentist). I want to be able to exactly what you described, lift up his lip and check his teeth without him being too worried. Equally I don't want to make him feel more worried about his mouth being checked.

I will share anything that works.

[ladyndibs]

Louise will he let you touch his mouth without a gag? With Lady I changed technique slightly after the first few goes and instead of going straight for the cleaning I was just holding her lip by putting my hand flat on it, as soon as she stayed still I took my hand away, gradually I started pushing her lip up and holding it up for a second or two, she is a really sweet natured mare and I can even put my fingers between her top and bottom teeth and pull bits of grass out.
I am a bit of a wuss but I've found that I sometimes need my stubborn head on, the 'I don't care if it takes all day but we're going to do it at least once today' frame of mind seems to work quite well, I'm very lucky though as I have three very well mannered horses (most of the time lol).

[varkie]

Have you looked into clicker training? That can be brilliant for persuading horses that they want to work with you on something, and for overcoming fears.

[louiseh78]

Yes done lots of clicker training with my therapy support dog. Never thought about it with horses!!

[varkie]

Excellent - if you've done it with your dog, you've got a good start with it for your horse. There's quite a few FB clicker groups.

[jill]

I'll second clicker training - with something as unusual as checking teeth with or without a gag though, it would help to make a very carefully thought through shaping plan. Good luck, it should be fun for you both.

[louiseh78]

Thanks very much all. Will let you know how it goes!! X

[jen1]

The person you need is paul waudby, he works alone and uses advance and retreat , hecreally does have a wonderway with them,

[louiseh78]

Thanks Jen, that's good to know. Will check him out.

[jennyf]

Try starting by touching all around mouth, lips, chin gently with your fingers. If possible, when accustomed to this, try to gently slip your finger (carefully) in the front of his mouth and gently rub his front gums - many horses really like this once they get used to the having their mouths handled regularly.