Just hoping to find out if anyone else has had any experience with this:  Two weeks ago, my horse had her teeth floated.  She is 6 1/2; nothing remarkable about her teeth, just standard floating; vet said they were in good shape.  He also gave her a bit seat.  I had ridden her the day before the float & everything was fine.

 The day after her float, I tried to ride her and she was throwing her head all over the place and popping up her front end to avoid contact.  I ride in a 3-piece snaffle; same bit I've been riding her in for 1 1/2 years.  I tested out various things; lunging her in tack, out of tack, saddle, no saddle, bridle, no bridle.  It wasn't a lameness issue.  The vet came back out a week later when I called and said I still couldn't ride.  He checked her mouth & could see nothing abnormal in there.  He pressed around her face and found her temporomandibular joint was very, very sore (this was eight days after the float).  He put her on 2 grams bute for five days & told me to try riding again after that.  No change.  Fourteen days later, I still cannot ride her.

 She is not a difficult horse.  She is very mellow, easy-going, and has a lot of heart.  This is clearly a pain issue, not a training issue.  The vet had me try a different snaffle bit; no change.  She is eating okay now (initally not as well), drinking fine, all her systems are "go." 

 My next thought is to try chiro/massage work... the vet doesn't know how to resolve the problem.  He offered that if she isn't better in another few days, we could/should have another vet come take a look to see if he has missed anything inher mouth.  He has never had this happen before.  Her last dental float was done by a different vet & there were no issues afterward.  SO-- I am just wondering if this has happened to anyone else, how it was resolved, how long it took to resolve.  Thanks!

 

Wow it seems like you have a very perplexing situation on your hands!

well first i must ask if it is like a weird "tick" type of head toss. kind of like it will just happen and she cant help but do it.

If it is you might want to check it her kneck is out of alignment. If it is the vet can do several things to pop it back in. ~*MAKE SURE YOUR VET IS CERTIFIED IN CHIROPRACTIC STUFF AND THEY KNOW HOW TO DO IT!~*  if not your horse could end up worse out of alignment than before. my mare had this weird head toss and the vet came out to check her. she found that her kneck was out of alignment and when she found thta it was she did this weird move on her.

hope this might help!

P.S~ it may take a few treatments to get her kneck back in "alignment" 

No, it is not a "tick" type of head toss.  It is nearly ever stride of lifting her head up, hollowing her back, I am unable "steer" her with the reins because she is so clearly avoiding any contact -- very obvious avoidance of any kind of vertical flexion.  I just got a return call-- I have an appointment for tomorrow morning for the chiro/massage work-- he is certified and has worked on her previously for other stuff and I have had fantastic results.  I am just really hoping this resolves the problem.  Thanks for the input!!    I still welcome input from anyone else who has had this happen... the jury is still out as to whether or not I will see any improvement after the massage/chiro work, but I will let you know.

Sounds like you are writing about my mare and me!!  I have never been so flustered in my life.  She just got her teeth done last week. Vet checked her over and she is fine.  I have tried the no saddle lounging changing bit.....etc.  Still nothing.  Let me know how the chiro/massage works for you. That was my next step.  The only difference is that my mare doesnt do it every stride, her is unpreditable. She has a short neck and really has come super close to giving me a black eye!  I really just want to scream the last couple of days. I hope you have good results. Keep me posted!

Were y'all there while the vet was working on your horses?  Just asking because one of mine REALLY fights his poor vet when we get this done, and he gets his done twice a year because of his age.  He has to get so doped up we have to hang around the vet's office for at least an hour afterwards before we can load and go home.  And he's so perfect about everything else; just hates those pnuematic floating tools, and he is usually really sore once he recovers.  Not so much his mouth, although there is some tenderness there, but moreso in his body from fighting the procedure.  So maybe they misaligned or sored something during that process?  So a massage or chiro may be just the thing.  Hope so, let us know what happens.

Some good news for myself and the other posters who have had similar issues!  My chiro/massage therapist worked on my mare for a little over an hour (he did her whole body).  He said that the muscles in the jaw that connect up to the TMJ were in spasm & her poll area was out as well. 

 I just had to get an idea of if we had any success in resolving her pain - normally I don't ride her right after work.  But I did hop on her w/ a bareback pad & my regular snaffle.  We just trotted a couple lengths of her paddock & so far, so good-- no head tossing.  She is carrying herself MUCH better; back to floating across the ground.  I'll let you know once I get a "real" ride on her if it is completely gone, mostly gone, etc.  Definitely could be the way for others to go with similar issues-- but, as a previous poster said-- be really careful who you go do so they don't do more damage.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!!  I only have a short list of people to choose from, I live in podunkville, not much around here. My friend used a lady a couple of times and was really happy with her results, just have to explain to hubby why the horse is getting adjusted and massaged and he isn't...hahaha

Ah yes-- husbands need massage work, too-- but hard to afford that for the horse and the husband!  I think it was TXSpots who asked if I was there when the float was done-- yes, I was & yes, she was pulling back.  This vet uses the stand (instead of the over-stall pulley sling that my old vet used in her stall doorway).  She was leaning back on it the entire time & staggering a bit off to the left.  He had to re-position the stand several times to get it back under her.  It is very possible (if not probable) that all that pulling resulted in the spasms and soreness.  Thanks again, everyone!  I'll let you know how the ride goes.

 ALRIGHT! CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW IT GOES!!!  <;-------------:)

I rode for a bit last night... I'd say she is about 80% better, but on her right side (which had seemed more sore originally) she is still throwing her head back (when we turn that way) and avoiding contact.  I am going to give her a few more days of healing time before I try again.  If she is still off, then my vet said he can bring out another dentist to take a look and see if he has missed something. Going straight, though, she was moving much better and wasn't throwing her head up.

Ouch your poor mare!  I'm glad she's getting better. Annapolis is always so fidgety for the dentist (I don't blame him, I don't like the dentist either) I always have him sedated for the procedure.  Last time, even though he was sedated, he still managed to shake the speculum right out of his mouth.

No noticable after effects like your mare though.  I hope she soon makes a full recovery.

 

Hi guys... here is my update:  the chiropractic & massage work did not lead to full resolution.  Four weeks post-float, my vet had an equine dentist come check her out.  The dentist (who is also a vet, not just someone trained in equine dental work) didn't find anything of real significance.  He made some minor changes in her mouth, but also noted that her TMJ was still sore.  He told me to ride her today & see how it went.

 At first, she seemed better, but once we were warmed up and I asked her for more collection and smaller turns & circles, she went back to pulling at the bit, showing great discomfort-- to the point that she would have started bucking if I had pressed her further.  It is definitely a pain issue & not a training issue.

 The dentist said to give her a few more days before deciding if it worked or not.  His next step would be to inject the TMJ, believing this is where the pain lies.  He has had success with this in a couple other horses.  If it is the TMJ, he said that it was probably a pre-existing issue that was fairly latent, but the dental work (speculum) exacerbated it and brought it to the surface full-force.

 I have never had any joint injections before, but I have read positives and negatives about them (all in relation to the hock joint, not the TM joint).  I am still wondering if longer-term massage therapy would help her heal.  I presume people inject hock joints because it isn't something that can be helped by massage-- is that a correct assumption?  Would the same principle apply to the TM joint?  Thank you.

I'm crossing my fingers for you and your mare! My mare started throwing her head last year, and it continues, even if contact is very light. I've had her teeth checked, chiro, massage, and top dressage clinicians to try to figure her out and nothing really fixes it. The stronger contact, the more head throwing. It started suddenly too. I've tried the 'head shaking net's" and they've changed nothing. some days are better than others, but it's very frustrating. I've just learned to accept it. I personally think my horses problem is mental. Once we started 3rd level work, I think it fried her brain. But I hope your problem is physical and can be fixed! Good luck, and I'm hoping the best for you and your mare!

Have you given thought to more chiro treatments; I imagine horses are like humans and one time doesn't always do it.  If I lived closer I would be seeing my chiropractor weekly; but as its 50 miles, I see him monthly.  It might only take one or two more chiro treatments to get her back in alignment.

I am wondering how it has turned out for your horse? 

One thing to remember is that just because a person is a vet, doesn't mean they are trained in Equine Dentistry.  The testamony in three recent trials centered around the amount of training received vets in Equine Dentistry.  The expert reviewed the curriculums from all vet schools in the U.S. and only 3 mentioned Equine Dentistry with none of them requiring any practice or proficiency. 

Second, I am wondering about the wolf teeth.  Are they present, are they blind (unerupted), or maybe they have been broken during an extraction?  I am not certain about the need to remove them, but a vast majority of horse people feel they should be removed.

Third, How old is the horse and do you feel any bumps on the bar (the part of the gums with no teeth or just the K-9's?)    Sometimes these K-9's are breaking though or never erupt enough to break through the gums and cause a pain like a baby teething.

Fourth, Did you feel inside the mouth during the exam (you need to feel all of the teeth, which is why an oral speculum must be used?)  I think when are having a dental exam done you should feel what is going on in the mouth (it is a real eyeopener) and what was done should be felt during a post care exam.  When you feel the points alone, it is nearly impossible to believe that in the least the horse isn't much more comfortable.  It is also amazing to see the ulcerations caused by the points of the outside upper molars.