Certified equine dentist Tina Eide performs annual dental work on Jule Drown’s Paso Fino gelding, Alegro.

Spring is a beautiful time in Southern Arizona. It’s a good time to be riding, caring for my horses, learning new things, and spending time with friends.

Tina Eide, the equine dental technician I use in conjunction with a veterinarian (to administer a light sedative), came to perform her annual work to balance my four horses’ teeth.

Tina is a certified equine dentist who’s a graduate of, and instructor at, The Academy of Equine Dentistry in Idaho. She’s used her expertise and collection of power dental tools to equilibrate and balance the mouth problems two of my adult horses had when I purchased them, including tongue and cheek ulcers, and a front-teeth underbite.

Maintaining your horses’ teeth, Tina explained, is critical to their overall health, as well as their ability to chew and eat. It even affects their comfort. Tina rounded and smoothed certain teeth in each of my riding horses to create a "bit seat," so their mouths don’t become damaged holding a bit.

Tina explained that younger horses’ soft teeth quickly become sharp, so they usually need annual dental work from the age of about 2 to 4 years old (younger if they have a problem). As horses age, their teeth harden. If they’ve had regular, proper dental care, and have a balanced mouth, older horses can get by with dental work once every two years, unless a problem arises.

My vet had removed Clementino’s wolf teeth when the horse was castrated at 8 months old. Clementino is now 2 years old. Since I won’t start riding him until he’s 4, he’ll just need to be checked for any baby teeth that don’t fall out properly as his adult teeth emerge during the next two years.

My mare, Natalie, is 12 years old and has no dental problems, so Tina will skip her for the first time next year.

‘A Great Gelding’
For a special treat, some horse friends and I went to Phoenix, Arizona, for a weekend training exhibition conducted by Clinton Anderson.

As someone who likes to learn and practice ground work and riding techniques, I’m always motivated watching a clinician in person. It was gratifying that a friend in attendance was able to practice Clinton’s tips for loading a difficult horse in a trailer. For the first time, she was able to trailer her horse to my house for a trail ride.

At the training exhibition, Clinton gave several demonstrations with his gorgeous Quarter Horse, Diez. He informed the audience of over 2,000 attendees that he’d purchased Diez as a stallion with excellent bloodlines for about $28,000, to use in reining competition, and that he gelded Diez soon after buying him.

Murmurs went up from the grandstand. One person, clearly puzzled, asked Clinton why he’d castrated such an expensive, well-bred horse. Clinton responded that Diez had been a good stallion and was now a great gelding. He elaborated by saying that there is a glut of horses in our country, which is intensifying due to the new ban on horse slaughter. Anderson told the audience that he believes only great mares and stallions should be bred, the ones that are the very best of their breeds and at the top of their competitive activities.

Unfortunately, there are way too many unwanted and neglected horses. I won’t be breeding Porcelana again, as fun as it’s been to raise and train her colt, Clementino.

One organization addressing this problem is the Unwanted Horse Coalition (www.unwantedhorsecoalition.org). This coalition has a list of 125 facilities and programs that will accept horses, including rescue, retirement, and retraining facilities; police and military organizations; therapeutic riding programs; colleges and universities; public stables; and government and park service programs.

Horse Party
I also took some time to invite three riding friends to a Ladies Invitational Horse Show Party. The party was an opportunity to show each other photos and videos of the horses we’ve owned. My husband, Rich, encouraged me not to invite any men, as they wouldn’t have the stamina for endless horse viewing.

While Rich watched a game on television, we ladies ohhed and ahhed over hundreds of pictures in photo albums and on CDs; plus, we watched videos. It was a fun get-together, centered around our fondness for horses and riding.