Age of EquineIt’s All in the Teeth
Determining Age
• Age affects usefulness and value• Type, number and appearance of incisor
teeth help determine correct age– 5 years or less – some combination range from all
milk teeth (temporary teeth) to all permanent incisors
– 6 to 12 years – number of cups (indentations) in permanent incisor teeth
– 12 years & over – examine cross section and slant of incisor teeth
What’s the Difference
• Temporary Teeth – small, white, oval shaped; wider side to side than front to rear
• Permanent Teeth – yellow, larger than temporaries with a general round surface
• Molars – used for grinding on each side• Incisors – used for cutting
What’s the Difference
• 3 sets of incisors – Centrals, Intermediates, Corner Incisors (6 upper & 6 lower)
• Incisors have a cup or indentation in center of tooth that wears down with age and ultimately disappears
The Numbers Make the Difference
• Immature horses – Total 24 temporary teeth
• Mature horses – Total 36-38 permanent teeth
• Stallions & Geldings – 40-42 permanents– Wolf Tooth (Canine) – appears in front of
upper molar teeth. Accounts for difference
The Breakdown
1 year – All temporary incisors present / Cups gone from centrals
2 year - All temporary incisors present / cups gone
3 year - Temporary central incisors replaced with permanent central incisors
• 4 years - Temporary intermediate incisors replaced with permanent intermediate incisors
• 5 years – All temporary incisors replaced with permanent incisors. Horse is full
mouthed.• 6 years – Cups gone from lower central
incisors• 7 years – Cups gone from lower intermediate
incisors• 8 years - Cups gone from lower corner incisors
• 9 years - Cups gone from upper central incisors
• 10 years - Cups gone from upper intermediate incisors
• 11 years - Cups gone from all incisors. Horse
is smooth mouthed.
Extras
• A hook (worn edge) may appear on upper corner incisors at 7 to 11 years
• Galvayne’s Groove – Line that appears on the upper corner incisors around 10 to 11 years, gets longer as horse ages.
• Angle of Incidence – angle at which the incisor teeth meet. Increases and teeth wear down as horse ages.
Extras
• Floating – Filing off the sharp edges of a horse’s teeth with a rasp-like instrument.
• Bishoping – The practice of artificially drilling, burning or staining cups in teeth of older horses.