Penny is an eleven year old quarter horse that was recently acquired by her new owner. Her owner was concerned with Penny’s very thin body condition. Penny was being fed hay, oats, and feed twice a day. Upon examining the feces the same hay and oats could easily be seen having passed through Penny’s digestive system essentially unchanged.
An oral examination revealed that Penny’s lower cheek teeth (molars) had large waves. Worse her fourth cheek tooth (first molar) on both lower arcades was at a 45 degree angle toward the cheek. This area was extremely painful to Penny. All of these factors prevented proper mastication (chewing) of her food. Observe the packing of hay and feed between the teeth and cheek teeth.
Penny was prepared for the extraction of these two molar teeth by sedating her and giving her a nerve block on both sides of her mandible. The teeth were removed with extraction forceps. Penny recovered without complications.
The next day Penny’s attitude was improved and she was eating and drinking well. Her mouth required flushing with water for a couple of weeks to help the extraction site to granulate in and heal. Her prognosis is good.
