equine dentist

The equine dentist came to float a bunch of horsey teeth at the barn today. Shyloh was one of those horses. Doug, the dentist, was amazing! He does not use drugs or power tools. I had no idea what to expect, since Shy was floated and had her wolf teeth removed right before she came home to me. Doug just went right into Shy's stall and stuck his hand in her mouth. Shy did not have a problem with that. He was very calm and patient with her and she reciprocated by being a very good Haffie. 

File file!

The dentist's visit was educational, as well. On a whim, I asked him how old he thought Shy was. Without hesitation, he said five, coming on six. What?? I had believed that she was six or seven! For some reason, that year or two seems to make a huge difference in my head. It's almost like she is still a baby at five. She is probably still growing. Five. Wow. That really explains a lot about her. Why she is a little spooky (not as much exposure), lack of experience under saddle (does she even have any training?), less driving experience than realized (probably ground driven but never hooked up to a cart). So, she is much greener than we thought. . .but oh well. I have a good support team, including Beth who will train Shy and teach me.  

Another interesting thing Doug showed me was that Shy had two canine teeth coming in through the top of her mouth. I got to feel them! One had already pushed its way through the gum and the other was just under the gum. Doug said that mares do not have these teeth, only stallions and geldings, unless the mother horse was giving hormones when she was in foal. Very interesting! This just adds more mystery about Shy's past! He took those canines out (it was real simple, Shy bled a little, but she did not mind). Doug also floated the rest of her teeth, including the hook on her right side. I can't wait to see how she does when Beth rides her next week. 

Later, when I kept checking on the bleeding in Shy's mouth, I could see it already healing. Just so amazing! Doug asked me if I drove Shy. I told him I was working on it and he said she has the body for driving. He also mentioned that she was a very quiet and well behaved Haffie. That made me smile!

I gave Shy a long grooming session, using every brush and de-shedding tool I had access to. Shy is a shedding pony! And look how big Fuzzy has gotten!

Baby boy Haffie

I also used a whitening shampoo on her tail. I want to get her mane, but I will wait until it is warmer out. Then me and Kathy took our horses outside to graze on the green green grass for just a little bit. Between the rain and the hail, I don't know when the pastures are going to dry up!

So yummy!

I am ending with this short video. . .does anyone notice anything different about Shyloh? Or do my eyes deceive me? Let me know what you think!