“In April of this year, he got his canine teeth. In researching, I saw no cases of a horse getting canine teeth at the age of 12. “…
I bought a horse from someone who told me he was 12-ish. In April of this year, he got his canine teeth. In researching, I saw no cases of a horse getting canine teeth at the age of 12. Does that happen? Or is this a younger horse? I’d take him to the vet to find out, but we are SOOOOO far out from a town where any vets are, I am hoping to keep our vet visits to illness rather than questions. Not looking for a definitive answer, though, just wondering if anyone knows of that happening.
AAH Staff Answer:
Jessie,
Canines erupt between 3 & 4. We have attached a guide for Aging a Horse by Teeth.
Compare it to your horse to determine his age.
AAH Staff
“What teeth should a horse have…”
What teeth should a horse have at 4 years of age? How many?
AAH Admininstrator’s Answer:
Cynthia, by the time a horse is a full 4 years old you should see the following teeth: Permanent central and intermediate incisors upper and lower. That means he should have permanent front middle teeth, 2 upper and 2 lower and the next tooth on either side upper and lower should also be permanent or 2nd teeth, that’s a total of 4 intermediate incisors. The corner incisors upper and lower should be starting to come in.(Some do not appear until 4 !/2 years old ) You may have run across what looks like a portion of a tooth on the ground around the barn. This is a horses’ baby tooth. It is called a “cap”. Between the incisors and the so called cheek teeth there is an empty space. The next tooth you will see is the 1st premolar or wolf tooth[upper]. Your vet may have already removed that tooth as that is a general practice.
By the time a horse is 4 they have usually shed the 2nd 3rd and 4th premolars[caps] and now have their permanent pre- molars. The remaining 3 cheek teeth come in as permanent teeth. These are called molars. These are general guides as each individual horse, like humans is different. So, for example, if your horse is not yet showing his corner incisors, he probably will soon. The other front incisors will probably be “in wear” in other words making full contact. A full set of teeth includes 24 cheek teeth, 12 incisors, 4 wolf teeth and 4 canines.
