monday musings by shyloh #124

Spring is coming. Know how I know? ALL the medical care begins.

Allie came out nice and early Saturday morning. I got to help clean stalls again. But then we had visitors. . .

The visitors were Doug and Jen LaRose of LaRose Equine Dentistry. They were super nice and had come to float our teeth. And, we were the first horses that he got to test his brand new tools on!

Reba was up first. She hadn't had her teeth done in years from her previous owners, so her teeth were pretty bad. Terry was a little unsure of how Reba would do, especially since Terry is used to power floats and sedation. Doug floats by hand. 

But Reba did great! I think she liked it because at a couple points there, she had her eyes closed and was leaning into it. Her mouth probably feels sooo much better now.

I was up next! I started out by being a little brat, but Doug made me move around real quick, so I straightened up right away. 

I had some hooks in the back of my mouth, which where taken care of right away. Allie got to look inside and see all of my big back teeth. She thought that was pretty cool. My canines are a non issue. They barely break my gums.

They brought the minions in for their float next. They hadn't been floated in a long time either from before they came to live with us. Dexter went first, cause he mouth was all messed up. Jaime thought maybe he got kicked in the mouth by one of us because his teeth looked chipped and short and just messed up.

Well. . .nope. Turns out Dexter is just a baby! Doug said he is coming two, which is about two years younger than Jaime was told. What the? He is totally broke and bombproof. He was driving in parades! Which led Jaime to the question, who broke him so young in his life? Poor Dexter. Everyone feels bad, cause they didn't know he was so young. So Dexter did not get a float, cause his caps are falling out still and he still has more teeth to get.

So, now it was Meatball's turn. He is a spunky minion and no one was sure how he would react. After some initial fuss where he ran around the back of the barn refusing to be caught, he did just fine. Meatball's age that they were told was dead on - thirteen. Whew, they sure didn't want another shock like Dexter!

Back to the big guys, Kyle brought Clutch in for his turn. Nothing remarkable here, Clutch was good for his float. 

And finally Notch. Isaac is away at the trainer, so he was not home for his float. I miss that big blue horse! Notch was not a fan of the dentist. A couple times, I thought he was going to lift Doug right off the ground! Eventually, he let up and let Doug finish floating. Doug didn't get mad or anything, he was so patient.

Doug used Notch to show Allieus how to feel the teeth without putting their hands in tour mouths. If there are sharp edges, we will react from a tap on the side. 

After the dentist, we all got to hang out at the round bale for the day where we got snowed on! That was the best part!

~Shyloh

weird teeth

A couple weeks ago when I rode Shyloh I noticed something strange about her. As I put her bridle on, I had to stick my finger in her mouth to get her to open it. I had trained her to open it when I said "open", but it had been a while since I put a bridle on her and Shy was not being cooperative. So I stuck my finger right in there and I felt a bump on her bottom gums. 

Hard to see, but they are there!

Weird. I decided to feel the other side for comparison. Another bump. I had Jaime feel it too. It was definitely a bump on each side. The bumps were right were canines would grow in. . .

But in March of 2012 when she had a float done by an equine dentist, he removed her canine teeth on both sides. These were not wolf teeth, either, since those are on top and Shy had those removed right before I got her. In fact, I actually had the wolf teeth brought to me by the person I bought her from, but I lost them in the hub bub of moving her into our first barn. 

So, my question is, can canine teeth grow in again? I have heard if not all of the root comes out they can, but not getting the root on both sides? Strange. And the fact that she has canine teeth when I have heard that they are not common in mares is odd. Not just one, but apparently two sets. 

I keep checking on them and now they have popped through the gums. Shy is not showing any signs of pain or discomfort from these teeth. She is eating normal and not dropping food. I am not too worried about these extra teeth she has, it is just so not normal. But then again, Shy is so not normal. 

Little mohawk from growing out part of the bridle path.

We made an appointment for an equine dentist to come out to the barn in March. I used him last year (he is different from the one that removed her canines) and I really liked him. Maybe he will have the answers. 

float on

Shyloh got her teeth floated this afternoon by Doug LaRose. I had heard great things from him from fellow Michigan blogger Kristin and her OTTB, Laz. Doug also has Clydesdales, which Jaime liked and booked Doug to come down our way. When I got to the barn, Shy was laying down and napping. By Lukas. I think he is her new love target since Jesse is gone. And I have not seen Lukas be mean to her in a while. I have seen Shy pin her ears at him a few times when I am near her and he moves in, thinking I have food for him. When Doug got to the barn, he said that he heard I had a pony, so of course I had to correct him. Turns out, he was joking with me since he floated Jaime's horses at her barn first. 

The mouth opening contraption

Doug was very patient and gentle with Shy and she took to him pretty quickly. At first, of course, Shy stuck to her namesake and wanted to keep her distance from the new person. But real soon she had no problem with him or any of the tools he used. I like that Doug would show Shy the tools first and run her nose with them before he started using them in her mouth. He also didn't keep Shy's mouth cranked open when he did not need it open.

She did keep her eye on me when he was floating

Doug let me look in Shy's mouth and I got to see her pointy edges. They were not that bad, but they were rubbing a little on the sides of her mouth. He said that it would explain the behaviors I described. But he also said that her teeth were not bad and he recommends that a year is a good interval for her. 

Doug wanted to work with Shy on the grass. . .Shy wanted to eat the grass!

After he was done he remarked that Shy was a good horse and very well behaved. Yay Shy!

Post float eating. . .silly face!

No more sharp edges!!

After the float, I hung out with Shy and all the mud at the barn. The beginning of spring is the worst. We went into the arena to get on some dry, non-muddy ground. The horse that a year ago would wander around the arena and stay away from me now chooses to stick to me like glue. The horse that would not come near me if I stood on the mounting block or was in any way taller than her now will walk right up to me when I stand on this mounting block. And this is a tall homemade mounting block. I love that Shy is a relaxed horse and has such a natural curiosity.

View from Shy at the top of the mounting block

This weekend, we will be back to working with the cart! I am excited, it's been too long!

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!