Horse Aging Using Teeth Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office By: Mr. Tim Savelle, Jennifer Osborne, and Dr. Frank Flanders July 2006

The Importance of Determining the Age of Horses Uses: Validate advertised age when buying Confirming age when racing or showing Feeding for proper nutrition at various life stages

Aging by Teeth An art that requires skill and experience Very old method of aging horses Error increases with horse’s age Becomes an educated guess after horse is older than 14 years Stabled horses tend to appear younger (less tooth wear) Pastured horses tend to appear older (more tooth wear)

Equine Tooth Structure Canines Incisors Wolf Tooth (when present) Mandible Premolars Molars Maxilla Horses have 24 temporary teeth and 42 permanent teeth

Equine Tooth Structure Central Incisors (also pincers or nippers) Intermediate Incisors Corner Incisors Age is determined using the 12 front teeth (incisors)

Mouthing a Horse for Age In Real Life: Hold the tongue out and to the side with your hand. This restraint provides an unobstructed view and is not painful to the horse.

Tooth Emergence Temporary Teeth (Baby Teeth) Temporary pincers: Birth - 10 days Temporary intermediates: 4 – 6 weeks Temporary corners: 6– 10 months

Tooth Emergence Permanent Teeth 6 years old Canine teeth appear: 4-5 years Permanent corners: 4 ½ years Permanent intermediates: 3 ½ years Permanent pincers: 2 ½ years

Tooth Wear As horses age, “cups” disappear from incisors 15 years old 6 years old As horses age, teeth become more triangular-shaped

Usually appears around the age of 10 years. Galvayne’s Groove A mark on the upper corner incisors that appears and disappears in a predictable pattern as horses age Usually appears around the age of 10 years.

Groove is usually half way down at age 15 Galvayne’s Groove A mark on the upper corner incisors that appears and disappears in a predictable pattern as horses age Groove is usually half way down at age 15

By age 20 the groove usually extends the full length of the tooth Galvayne’s Groove A mark on the upper corner incisors that appears and disappears in a predictable pattern as horses age By age 20 the groove usually extends the full length of the tooth

Groove begins to recede around age 21 Galvayne’s Groove A mark on the upper corner incisors that appears and disappears in a predictable pattern as horses age Groove begins to recede around age 21

Galvayne’s Groove A mark on the upper corner incisors that appears and disappears in a predictable pattern as horses age Groove is halfway gone by age 25 and disappears completely around age 30.

Determine the most likely age for the following horse Aging Using Teeth Determine the most likely age for the following horse 7 years 14 years 21 years 28 years Wear – No Cups

Determine the most likely age for the following horse Aging Using Teeth Determine the most likely age for the following horse Oval Shaped Teeth No Canines 1 year 8 years 17 years 26 years

Aging Using Teeth Which horse is older? A B