Can You Really Tell How Old A Horse Is By Their Teeth?

That's a good question. Can you really tell how old a horse is by looking at their teeth? Even experienced horse owners have trouble making a connection between teeth and age. It takes many years of practice to avoid being taken by the horse jockey who is trying to pass off a sixteen year old as a six-year-old horse. With some, you'll be able to inspect a horse's teeth and understand their age.

As a foal, your horse may have two nipper (front), teeth. Sometimes it takes around a week for these to come in. By the time the first birthday rolls around, he should be able to use the incisor or milk teeth. By two and a-half years of age, most horses have shed all their baby teeth and the adult teeth have come in. Around three years old, your horse should have permanent nipper teeth. You will learn that the nipper teeth are appropriately named. In a horse's fourth year, a horse should be getting his divider teeth, which sit on each side of his nipper teeth. By five years of age, a horse should have all his teeth. At this age, the horse should not be using them for taste-testing you. In all, an adult horse will have forty teeth. A horse's teeth will continue to change. Each tooth will gradually morph from a rectangular shape to eventually a triangular shape.

When a horse reaches six years of age, the teeth begin to develop little pits in them that resemble cavities. Eventually, the central incisor pits disappear with age. This happens roughly around age seven. A horse is in his prime at the age of eight, around the age when all the lower teeth have lost their pits. At this time, a new dent in the teeth known as the dental star appears on the lower center incisors. From age eleven up, your horse's teeth will start to gradually jut forward toward his lips with each passing year. The teeth will become more triangular from this point on.

Even some experienced horsemen and even many vets cannot place age on a horse just by looking at his teeth. Practice makes perfect when aging a horse. When it comes to aging a horse, practice makes perfect. If you are serious about becoming a horse expert, it pays to practice. A horse can't tell you what they've been through, how old they are or what kind of health they are in. Learning how to age a horse by their teeth can teach you a lot about a horse's health. Another area you can examine carefully is a the horse's temple. A hard look at your horse's temples can speak volumes. In most cases, deep temples above the eyes indicate substantial age. If you know someone who really has the ability to determine age by looking at a horse's teeth, make sure to get a lot of tips, as this is a hard skill to come by.

One misconception is that horse's teeth get shorter as they do in humans, but this is not true. A horse's teeth continue to grow as they age. They wear down from chewing, so the length of a tooth is not the most accurate tool for measuring the age of your horse.

There have been instances of jockeys attempting to alter a horse's teeth to mimic the dental stars and divots of a younger horse. These falsifications can be easily spotted by carefully studying the enamel. The best way to determine the age of any horse is to keep accurate records. If you are looking at a new purchase remember that between the ages six to twelve, the central incisors are round. Between the ages of eight to eighteen, they become more triangular and the lateral teeth become round or rectangular in shape around ages six to thirteen. Then they become more triangular between nine and nineteen years old. Inspect the little teeth on the corners around years seven to fourteen. They will also become more triangular between ages nine and twenty. After that, all the teeth will become more triangular as he ages. Make sure to contact a vet if you need more advice about aging a horse by its teeth.