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The equine dentist worked on Leo on Saturday. Leo definitely had some sharp points rubbing on his cheeks and his canine teeth had to be shortened (they were really long!).

After researching the equine dentists available in this area, we decided on Performance Equine Dentistry. The dentist, Richard Vetter, D.V.M, and his wife, Kathy, rolled up right on time in their mobile dental clinic. The 24’ custom trailer has a special stall in it that helps support sedated horses that are being worked on. The front of the trailer is like a tiny classroom, with educational posters, a horse skull, and samples of horse teeth with various defects.

I guess they normally spend about 15 minutes walking people through what they’re looking for when they examine a horse and what they do. Me being the Curious George that I am took up nearly an hour of their time with questions. Kathy was wonderfully gracious and took the time to show me how a bit works in a horse’s mouth by using the horse skull and some bits I brought to show her (thanks for that tip Al). I had dozens of questions and she answered them all. I learned soooo much in that hour!

Then it was time for Leo to have his teeth examined. Richard introduced himself to Leo in the pasture and then had us load him into the trailer clinic. While he worked on Leo, Kathy cooed to Leo and kept a close eye on him to make sure he wasn’t panicky.

Here is a video of Leo getting his teeth worked on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-RhDUgjb0Q

I thought it was very cute how they’d give the horses breaks during the process—Richard would hold the horse’s head and rock it back and forth like you would a baby and Kathy would pet the horse and say comforting things to it.

The tools were amazing. The whole set up was amazing. The dentist explained everything he was doing to Leo the whole time. It took a lot of urging on everyone’s part, but they finally convinced me to put my hand in Leo’s mouth and feel the sharp points on the sides of his teeth. I was sure that thing holding his mouth open would break and I’d lose my arm. The spikes were sharp! Poor Leo!

The highlight for me, aside from my learning session with Kathy, was being able to see inside a horse’s mouth for the first time. Not just the front teeth, but all the teeth.

Leo’s teeth are right as rain now and he’s going to be scheduled for regular checkups from now on. He was a total trooper and successfully survived the dentist’s chair. Jim and I were both so impressed with the work that was done by the Vetter team and appreciated their willingness to teach us as much as we wanted to learn. If you’re in Washington State and need an equine dentist, here is their Web site: www.perfequinedentistry.com

And here’s one more video. This is of Jim’s other horse, Shadow. He’s a big fellow and was the most nervous of the horses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19JqLDq2a_c