Don Ryker’s job bites.
Or, more specifically, his patients do.
Ryker is a veterinarian specializing in horses and an adjunct professor. He recently supervised Michigan State University Veterinary School students in a ‘hands on the horse? class in which they practiced equine dentistry at the D-bar-A Scout Ranch in Metamora.
‘I’ve gotten bitten many times,? said Ryker, whose practice, Don Ryker, DVM, and Associates, is located in Ortonville. ‘Most of the time I’m asking for it, because I stick my hand in to see if they need to be floated.?
Floating is the care in which horse teeth are filed using power tools to keep them even. A horse can have as many as 44 teeth in their mouth, all of which grow throughout their lives. Ryker said the teeth are designed to wear on each other and they wear evenly if they have good teeth. But the wearing is not perfect, and the inside part of the lower teeth don’t wear as much, so they become sharp and long.
Ryker shows the vet students how to take sharp edges off the inside of the lower teeth and the outside of the upper teeth to bring the chewing surface back into alignment.
‘This was sort of a chance to use the dental equipment to do equine dentistry,? says Ryker of the course he teaches once a year. ‘They’ve already had the book work, this was practical application.?
How often a horse needs to be floated depends on the age and use of the horse. Usually, it is once every two years if done with the power equipment, although a young horse needs it more frequently, and if the horse has an overbite, every six months.
‘If they didn’t see an orthodontist when they were little, more often,? jokes Ryker, but he’s not joking when he says that when horses are very young, before six months old, they can get braces to correct an overbite.
Horses can get toothaches and TMJ (temperomandibular joint syndrome) but with good dental work, it is generally not an issue. Ryker says a few horses have gotten cavities, but it usually happens much later in a horse’s life. Horses? teeth wear away, so they don’t usually have an opportunity to get a cavity.
Ryker does note, however, that if all a horse was fed was peppermints, that might not be the case.
‘They’d have nice, sweet breath, but it wouldn’t be good for them,? he laughs. ‘We do a much better job with the nutrition of horses than of humans.?
The nutrition of horses has contributed to a longer life span for them, as well as maintenance of their teeth.
‘Dental work for a horse is very critical,? says Ryker. ‘Because we can do this so well and special feeds have been designed for horses, we’re able to keep horses alive longer, extending their life by another 10 years at least.?