Age of Equine
It’s All in the Teeth
Determining Age
• Age affects usefulness and value
• Type, number and appearance of incisor
teeth help determine correct age
– 5 years or less – some combination range from all
milk teeth (temporary teeth) to all permanent
incisors
– 6 to 12 years – number of cups (indentations) in
permanent incisor teeth
– 12 years & over – examine cross section and slant
of incisor teeth
What’s the Difference
• Temporary Teeth – small, white, oval
shaped; wider side to side than front to
rear
• Permanent Teeth – yellow, larger than
temporaries with a general round
surface
• Molars – used for grinding on each side
• Incisors – used for cutting
What’s the Difference
• 3 sets of incisors – Centrals,
Intermediates, Corner Incisors (6 upper
& 6 lower)
• Incisors have a cup or indentation in
center of tooth that wears down with
age and ultimately disappears
The Numbers Make the
Difference
• Immature horses – Total 24 temporary
teeth
• Mature horses – Total 36-38 permanent
teeth
• Stallions & Geldings – 40-42
permanents
– Wolf Tooth (Canine) – appears in front of
upper molar teeth. Accounts for difference
The Breakdown
1 year – All temporary incisors present / Cups
gone
from centrals
2 year gone
All temporary incisors present / cups
3 year with
Temporary central incisors
replaced
permanent
central incisors
• 4 years - Temporary intermediate incisors
replaced with permanent intermediate
incisors
• 5 years –
All temporary incisors replaced
with permanent incisors. Horse is full
mouthed.
• 6 years –
Cups gone from lower central
incisors
• 7 years –
Cups gone from lower intermediate
incisors
• 8 years - Cups gone from lower corner incisors
• 9 years -
Cups gone from upper central
incisors
• 10 years - Cups gone from upper
intermediate
incisors
• 11 years Cups gone from all incisors.
Horse
is smooth mouthed.
Extras
• A hook (worn edge) may appear on
upper corner incisors at 7 to 11 years
• Galvayne’s Groove – Line that appears
on the upper corner incisors around 10
to 11 years, gets longer as horse ages.
• Angle of Incidence – angle at which the
incisor teeth meet. Increases and teeth
wear down as horse ages.
Extras
• Floating – Filing off the sharp edges of a
horse’s teeth with a rasp-like
instrument.
• Bishoping – The practice of artificially
drilling, burning or staining cups in teeth
of older horses.