Signs a Horse Needs Teeth Floated: 7 Clues and How Often to Book

Signs a horse needs teeth floated: the short answer

The clearest signs a horse needs teeth floated show up at feeding time: wads of half-chewed hay dropped on the floor (called quidding), slow or messy eating, and long stems or whole grain in the manure. Under saddle, watch for head tossing and fighting the bit, and at any time for weight loss, bad breath, or swelling or discharge on one side of the face.

As for timing, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) says mature horses need a thorough dental exam at least once a year, and horses 2 to 5 years old should be checked twice a year. If the exam finds sharp points, and it usually does, the vet files them down. That filing is the float.

Horse teeth have been in the news lately. On Aug. 18, a Brazilian study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science reported sharp enamel points in all 69 horses examined, whether they lived on pasture, in stalls or a mix of both. On X, equine vets and rescues have been posting about dental care, and retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré shared that his 29-year-old horse's chewing teeth are gone, so he now eats soaked senior feed. In Colombia, Cundinamarca's agriculture office, the Secretaría del Agrocampesinado, reported on Sept. 16 that it had trained more than 350 people from 12 towns in equine dentistry.

Why horse teeth keep erupting, and why sharp points form

Horse teeth don't work like ours. They are very long teeth, mostly hidden in the jaw, that keep pushing out (erupting) about 1/8 inch, roughly 3 mm, a year throughout the horse's life to replace what grinding wears away. The Horse puts the workload at about 40,000 chews a day.

The wear isn't even, though. A horse's lower jaw is narrower than its upper jaw, so the Merck Veterinary Manual explains that points form on the cheek side of the upper teeth and the tongue side of the lower teeth. Those edges can get sharp enough to cut the cheeks and tongue.

Left alone, small problems grow:

• Hooks and ramps: overgrown edges at the front or back of a row of cheek teeth that interfere with normal jaw movement.
• Waves: an up-and-down chewing surface, known as wave mouth, that makes grinding less efficient.
• Ulcers: sores where the points rub, made worse when a noseband or bit presses the cheek against the teeth.

Floating is the fix. The vet uses hand floats (long-handled rasps) or motorized tools to take off the points and rebalance the chewing surface.

How a horse lives changes how fast this happens. Merck says horses that graze on pasture usually need yearly preventive care, while stalled horses fed hay and grain usually need oral exams at least twice a year.

7 signs your horse needs its teeth floated

These are the AAEP's seven warning signs, put in terms of what you can see, smell and feel. Some horses adapt to dental pain and show none of them, which is why the yearly exam matters even for a horse that seems fine.

1. Dropping feed while eating. Hay or grain falls from the mouth, chewing is slow or awkward, or the horse drools more than usual.
2. Losing body condition. Ribs and hips start to show on the same ration. Track it monthly with a body condition score; our body condition score chart shows how.
3. Undigested feed in manure. Noticeably long stems of hay or whole grain kernels mean the food wasn't ground properly.
4. Head tilting or tossing. Also bit chewing, tongue lolling, fighting the bit or resisting the bridle.
5. Performance problems. Leaning on the bridle, not turning or stopping well, even bucking.
6. A foul smell from the mouth or nostrils, or traces of blood from the mouth.
7. Nasal discharge or swelling of the face, jaw or mouth. This can mean an infected tooth, so don't wait for the annual visit.

Merck lists two more classic signs of dental disease: slowness at feeding time and a reluctance to drink cold water.

The 5-minute feeding-time check

• Watch your horse eat hay for five minutes. Is chewing steady and even, or slow and one-sided with a tilted head?
• Look under the hay net and around the feeder for green or brown wads.
• Check the water bucket for floating hay; some horses dunk food to soften it.
• Look at fresh manure for long stems or whole grain.
• Smell the breath at the nostrils, and look for discharge from just one side.
• Run a hand gently along the outside of the cheeks. Flinching can point to sores inside.

Never put your hand in the mouth to feel the back teeth. Those molars can crush a finger, which is why vets use a speculum.

What is quidding in horses?

Quidding is when a horse rolls food into a ball in its mouth, then drops it after partly chewing it, as the Merck Veterinary Manual describes. The dropped wads, called quids, look like small green cigars or slobbery balls of hay.

It happens when chewing hurts or doesn't work: points are cutting the cheek, a tooth is loose or broken, or gaps between teeth are trapping food. A single quid isn't a crisis, but a daily pile means the horse is wasting hay and will likely lose weight.

Call the vet the same day if quidding comes with heavy drooling, a swollen face, refusal to eat, or feed and saliva coming out of the nose. Feed from the nostrils can mean choke, which is an emergency. The Horse also lists choke and colic among the problems poorly chewed feed can cause.

Head tossing with the bit: is it the teeth?

Often, yes. The bit should sit on the tongue, the corners of the lips and the bars (the toothless gap in front of the cheek teeth), and it should never touch the cheek teeth, The Horse notes. When points have cut the cheeks, a snug noseband and rein contact press sore tissue against sharp edges, and the horse tosses its head, gapes or braces.

Wolf teeth are the other usual suspect. These small teeth sit just in front of the large upper cheek teeth; a horse can have none or up to four, and they are usually removed before a young horse is started in a bit, according to Texas A&M's veterinary college. Blind wolf teeth, which never fully break through the gum, are almost always a problem under the bit, per The Horse.

Still, not every head-tosser has bad teeth. Saddle fit, eye or ear problems, neck or back pain and headshaking syndrome can look the same, so ask for a full exam before blaming the mouth. Check bit and bridle fit with our tack and equipment guide.

How often to float horse teeth, by age

There is no single schedule for every horse, but these are the ranges vets work from:

Texas A&M says most horses need their teeth floated about once a year, while missing teeth, uneven rows or other problems can require more frequent visits.

Senior horses: when the teeth run out

Because horse teeth erupt for life, an old horse slowly uses its teeth up. Seniors can end up with worn-down grinding surfaces, loose or missing teeth, and gaps that pack with rotting food, which is behind a lot of "why is my old horse losing weight?" worry.

Some older horses with slower tooth growth can go 15 to 18 months between exams, The Horse notes, but others need more frequent checks because of age-related dental disease. One US rescue posted on Sept. 20 that a miniature mare with significant dental issues has gained 50 pounds and still sees her equine dental specialist every three months.

When chewing fails, the menu changes. Honoré's senior horse can't chew hard pellets, so his senior feed and alfalfa cubes are soaked in water, as recommended by Louisiana State University's vet school. Ask your vet before switching, and see our nutrition guide for forage basics.

What happens at a float, and what it costs

A proper dental exam is done under sedation. The Horse's dental guide says tranquilization should be used in every dental case, and the AAEP's position is that sedation and any invasive procedure in the mouth belong to a licensed veterinarian.

What to expect at the appointment:

1. Sedation, then a rinse to flush feed out of the mouth.
2. A speculum, a frame that holds the mouth open, plus a headlamp, because the back teeth can sit as far as 18 inches (about 45 cm) from the lips.
3. The exam: the vet looks at and feels every tooth, checks the gums and may take X-rays.
4. The float: points and hooks are filed with hand or power tools. The goal is a balanced, comfortable mouth, not flat teeth.
5. Aftercare: wait one to two hours to feed, until the horse can swallow normally, and don't ride the same day after heavy sedation.

Cost: the University of Missouri Extension budgets $100 to $150 a year for dental care. In CareCredit's 2023 Equine Lifetime of Care Study, reported by The Horse, owners who paid for dental care and floats averaged $167 a year for backyard horses and $240 for competition horses. Farm calls, sedation, X-rays and extractions can add to the bill, so ask for an itemized estimate.

What to do next

• Book a dental exam if your horse hasn't had one in 12 months, or in 6 months for a 2-to-5-year-old.
• Repeat the 5-minute feeding check weekly and note what you see.
• Score body condition monthly, especially heading into winter.
• Film quidding or bit trouble to show your vet.
• Call the same day for facial swelling, smelly one-sided discharge, drooling with refusal to eat, or feed coming from the nose.

For the rest of the routine, see our care guide. For more horse words, browse the glossary.