My horse is spitting hay out on his stall floor. Is he having teeth problems?

Question

He is a five year old gelding who has had some issues with laminitis the past two months and has been on stall rest. This past week I have noticed small globs of wet hay in the bedding. Help please....thanks.

Answer 1

there mite have been something wrong with the hay. maybe he took too much in one bite. but u said it was happening in a week? i woulld call the dentist just to be safe in case he DOES need his teeth floated

Answer 2

yesi cant memba what its called tho...get a dentist or your vet to float his teeth...

Answer 3

He's young for it, but yes, that's a classic sign of teeth problems.

He may have wolf teeth (little extra teeth that cause annoyances) or some kind of misaligned bite that's causing this, or he may just need his teeth floated.

Call your vet and ask him to come handle it, or to recommend a horse dentist who can look into it.  Horse dentists aren't actual doctors like human dentists are, but they usually have a lot of training in fixing tooth problems and can diagnose and treat most of them.

I don't know what the laminitis could have affected in his mouth.  But two months on stall rest is a long time for laminitis...  perhaps something systemic is causing both problems.  That's an issue for the vet.

Good luck!

Answer 4

i think he just needs his teeth trimmed. they go sharp after a while and need to be filed down. get an equine dentist out there and he'll help.

Answer 5

Yes! Your horse is definitely have problems chewing his hay. Have his teeth checked.  I bet he has some sharp edges etc.  Don't worry, once they float his teeth, he will be fine.

Answer 6

Could be... You should have him checked.

Answer 7

It definitely sounds like he might have a tooth problem like sharp points on his teeth that hurt him when he chews his hay.  Have his teeth checked by a vet or equine dentist.

Answer 8

Teeth are the first thing I would think of.  The other would be choke...sometimes prolonged stall rest, and lack of exercise, can wreak havoc with the digestive system.  If his teeth are okay (you would be able to feel the sharp edges if they are there), I'd ask the vet about it.  You could chop and moisten the hay if you think it might be that.

Answer 9

Maybe, but sometimes they spit out the stemmy stuff and just eat the leaves if they get plenty of feed.  It is surprising how picky they can be and how adept at picking out the stems and stuff they don't want to eat.

Make sure the stall is not concrete underneath.  That can actually cripple a horse for life if you leave them on it for too long.  Stalls should have a soft floor.  If you do have concrete you need to put chat over the concrete and then cover with several inches of bedding.  There should be no place where the bedding is less than 6 inches thick if concrete is underneath.  I'm sure you know this but every once in a while I will see a horse with severe joint problems caused by concrete flooring in their stalls.