Why Would a Horse With Parrot Mouth Lose Teeth?

Horses, for all their size and strength, can be very delicate creatures with many kinds of problems that can affect their health. One of the more common problems with caring for horses is their teeth. Tooth problems can cause all kinds of health problems, and when the horse has an oral deformity, such as a parrot mouth, it can make these problems worse.

  1. Parrot Mouth

    • Parrot mouth means the horse's jaws are not aligned evenly. In humans this would be called an overbite. While in humans and other animals an overbite might be only a nuisance, in a grazing animal misaligned teeth can be a serious health problem. A mild overbite, where the teeth are only slightly out of line, is nothing to be overly concerned about. A severe parrot mouth, where the upper teeth do not even meet the lower, can cause real problems for the horse.

    Chewing

    • In a grazing animal, the teeth work as grinders, moving not just up and down or back and forth, but in a circular grinding motion. The teeth are ridged on the edges, with flat surfaces where the plant material can be squashed and then ground up. When the jaws are misaligned, the teeth do not line up and grinding cannot occur properly. Thus the horse cannot chew the food properly, leading to poor digestion and weight loss.

    Gum Disease

    • Since the jaws are not aligned properly in a parrot mouth horse, and the teeth are not grinding food as they are intended, food is not being swallowed like it should. Chunks of plant material will get stuck in between the teeth and gums, and decay. This decay will harbor bacteria that will eat away at tooth enamel and cause other gum disease. Eventually, as the gum decays, the tooth loosens and can fall out.

    Tooth Eruption

    • Horses' teeth grow slowly at all times. They continue to erupt from the jaw until very old age. This is to provide constant replacement for the teeth that are being ground away from the roughage the horse eats. When a horse has a parrot mouth, some teeth are not getting ground down, and this causes them to grow long enough to cause painful sores in the roof of the mouth or the cheeks. These teeth may need to be pulled to keep them from inhibiting a horse from eating properly.