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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
    
Location: Florida.. | if my posts sounded harsh they werent intended to.. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | EqualRanch - 2015-04-28 8:37 PM
komet. - 2015-04-28 8:26 PM Itsme - 2015-04-28 7:59 PM NO WAYYYY!!!! You need at least 80 hours training per tooth to know them inside and out, anything less is just irresponsible and animal abuse... Even vet schools don't provide that much training.... Just ask here...
I spent several years living close to the dental school in Glens Ferry Idaho and I remember seeing vets from all over the world going there to learn more... A degree in veterinary medicine does not an equine dentist make. It's a darn good start tho. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 489
| I would not try it myself - but my husband says it is painful to watch me use a screwdriver because I SO lack hand dexterity skills. I definitely agree that the serious dental work should be left to the professionally trained. But I do believe that a lay person could learn to correctly OCCASIONALLY take the rough edges off. I believe every horse owner should have a basic understanding of floating and what it entails. That way you can better understand when your horse needs it and if who you are using is doing a quality job.
You sound like you have a logical and realistic outlook on learning about floating, a respect for the process, and the realization of the responsibility you take for the welfare of the horse. Perhaps if you tried some of the basic schooling, you would get a feel for if you could be good at it. Then you might pursue more knowledge and experience.
I don't believe that anyone should put a limit what they can learn to do. As another poster pointed out, no one is born an expert at anything. Kudos for wanting to broaden your knowledge, just also please be respectful of the welfare of the horse. |
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Location: Texas | komet. - 2015-04-28 9:40 PM EqualRanch - 2015-04-28 8:37 PM komet. - 2015-04-28 8:26 PM Itsme - 2015-04-28 7:59 PM NO WAYYYY!!!! You need at least 80 hours training per tooth to know them inside and out, anything less is just irresponsible and animal abuse... Even vet schools don't provide that much training.... Just ask here... I spent several years living close to the dental school in Glens Ferry Idaho and I remember seeing vets from all over the world going there to learn more... A degree in veterinary medicine does not an equine dentist make. It's a darn good start tho.
I know, that was my point. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I read all the comments
Since the op has more explanation
The things I would be concerned about is what vets would be teaching you, as a competent vet I don't think would be teaching a lay person with no training/education how to float.
I would also consider the cost of the equipment as it isn't cheap, I wouldn't cheap out on the quality of tools.
Just an example each tooth has it's own tool for pulling teeth, I have only met one vet and one equine dentist who actually have all the necessary tools.
Sedation, it is illegal to practice veterinary medicine without a liscense, this actually includes the major sedations rompin, etc. I have yet to have a horse floated without sedation, I have two at the current time that need a double dose to get in their mouth. What is your plan with this, without sedation the horse can pull back and you may inadvertently knock a tooth out or worse case break it off at the gum.
Sadly teeth and feet are not regulated in the horse industry and this is why we have any Joe Schmo doing this and we have more bad then good.
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | You sound very intelligent and like you're doing research on the topic. I hope all goes well if you decide to take this further and get trained in this area. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | I've had my grandfathers tools for the last 30+ years. I took a short course on the east coast many moons ago. I've been able to keep the sharp points off if I "had to do it". With that said, I have two great people within 30 min of my horses that I trust to do a better job than I. They have made it their passion. Out of neccessity I learned as we had no one in our area (at the time) that could really help out our young horses. Those that tried always did WAY TO MUCH, and the colts would get set way back. If you take a course and get to work with someone that's willing to check your work I say go ahead, Many years ago that's what we did out of neccessity. The Vet I use presently has really improved her expertise, not sure if she's taken more short courses thru CE or just has gotten lots of horses to work on and the numbers and diligency to do right has up'ed the quality. I'm so fortunate to have her, she uses power tools and NTO's husband uses hand tools. Both are very good with their skills and many horses in our area have benefitted from their services.
I want to cover a remark that was made earlier by someone . You do not have to have sedation to float teeth I've been witness to this many times over, I'm not against sedation and in fact, for it on horses that want to "fight". I have lots of "fight" in my blood lines. I use it when the horse "needs" it.
I love dormosedan gel and think that those that can understand the risks, effects, side effects and contraindications should keep some on hand as you never know when you may need it.
I was introduced to it several years ago and gave it to gals that were leasing my horses for college rodeo. I've used it once on a horse in a trailer accident and it worked great till we could get the horse cut out. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | 123barrelracer - 2015-04-28 7:48 PM Hi, everyone. Thank you all for your comments and responses. First of all, I'm not a troll. Maybe stupid, but not a troll.  I happened across this article (www.donblazer.com/ahorseofcourse/floating_02_08.html ) and it got me thinking since I'm pretty sure at least one of the "certified professionals" I've used has done more damage than good on visits that should have been routine. Second, I completely understand your concerns and genuinely appreciate that you care about my horses' wellbeing. The last thing I would want to do would be to hurt my horses and I realize that negatively changing the structure of one's mouth is the fast track to hurting one. I do not think that floating is an easy thing to do or doesn't require expertise and I certainly wouldn't go out and float my horses' teeth tomorrow without any training. What I was thinking about doing was attempting to take off a sharp edge maybe 6 months down the road after consistently learning from a vet or dentist (the poster who commented about Ed Wright's clinic basically described what I was hoping to be able to do ). Some of these responses have me wondering if that might be an overly aggressive goal. I never intended for my horses to never, ever see a dentist -- I only wanted to be more in tune with what was going on with their mouths, to know if the dentist is doing a good job, to be able tell if a float is really necessary (I would guess that there are horses out there who actually see the dentist too much and have lost more tooth than they can afford ), and to be able to prevent a rough edge here or there from becoming a real problem. When I looked into dentist schools, I found this website (www.horseshoes.net/advance.php ), which claims to teach you to float and extract wolf teeth in 16 instructional hours during a farrier school. Presumably at least a few of these people will be floating other peoples' horses to make money -- "to improve earnings per stop." That doesn't seem like enough time or experience to really know what you're doing to me. Or this training is more in-depth and takes 4 weeks (www.amscheqdentistry.com/program.html ) and goes beyond what someone would probably need to clean up a mouth and spot when it is time to call in a professional -- although the anatomy and so on would be vital. Of course, the learning that comes after the "training" -- the years, hours, and horses of experience -- is undeniably important. So I guess my question was, if I invested the time to learn the basics (with "do no harm" in mind ) and the money to get the right tools, would I be able to do right by my horses and actually provide them better care -- with a dentist or vet still on my team should the need arise? Has anyone successfully done it? From what I've read on here, many firmly believe "NO!" while some have had good success with it. Again, thank you all for your input and time.
Welcome to the board. I do see why it would be a good thing to have some knowledge about. At the sasme time, I still wouldn't work on my horses. It would be good to know exactly when to get a float, when and how to check for sharp edges or when to know the vet/dentist wasn't doing the right thing. But I wouldn''t work on my horse or anyone else's... Just my opinion. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1074
| I do agree with asking all the questions you can with all the professionals you meet. I ask my vet, shoer and equine dentist everything. I may drive them crazy, but I like to learn new knowledge. I want to educate myself as much as possible. |
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 Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | I laugh everytime I see Meep Meep post....doesn't matter what he or she says....It just makes me laugh lol. |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
| LRQHS - 2015-04-29 1:06 PM
I laugh everytime I see Meep Meep post....doesn't matter what he or she says....It just makes me laugh lol.
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | NJJ - 2015-04-28 12:05 PM MeepMeep - 2015-04-28 8:50 AM FLITASTIC - 2015-04-28 8:45 AM While I do agree that professionals are probably best to handle this, I am surprised at how harsh some of you have been on the subject. I need to read origional post again in case I missed something but the poster was just asking for advice on floating their own horse's teeth. I really didn't feel it was worthy of " Wow, just wow" or  these emoticons. I castrate all my own stud colts, dogs, and cats I have ever had. Is that a " Wow" moment to? Yea Just read the origional post. Just asking if they could take some rough edges off, if it was possible. Certainly not wanting to start an equine dentistry practice or something. lol 
In the old days, farriers were expected to be able to float teeth too. Not do corrective work, but knock the points off. My old farrier did my horses for years--no sedation, just stick them in the stocks and use one of those cheek speculums that you hold with one hand while the horse bites on it. Did a better job than the vets around here, who didn't use any sort of speculum at all. The guy I used until this year apprenticed with a tooth fairy at the track, and a couple of other guys. He always did good work, but the vets in his area pretty much shut him down. |
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Shipwrecked and Flat Out Zapped
Posts: 16390
Location: DUMPING CATS AND PIGS IN TEXAS :) | And, now, folks, Meep Meep has spoken! End of discussion lol. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | casualdust07 - 2015-04-28 2:15 PM hlc84 - 2015-04-28 1:51 PM I agree you should get a professional to do teeth. But as the daughter of a vet, I do get frustrated with blanket statements that "vets don't do as good job/or detailed job" as an equine dentist. Just like anything else there are some that are better than others. A vet has had many years of school/training in medicine and anatomy. Depending on their focus, some are better dentists. I'm in vet school and it bothers me a lot too. It's like, don't forget I'm on the boards people.. I'm working really really hard to be the best I can be and then I read posts about how vet dentists aren't as good. Don't assume I won't do as good of a job as a dentist because I'm a vet and someone had a bad experience with a vet once. We have learned a lot over the years and have many advances in dentistry. I guarantee you I will do the best job I can and I spend over $30,000 a year to learn this stuff. Nothing against the lay person dentist.. but don't lump me in a group of people who won't be good at something when you don't know how much work I put into to get my degree just so I can be an EQUINE VET. And dentistry is a big deal, a lot can go wrong, a lot can be over looked.. I'm busting my butt to be able to do that as part of my profession.. don't count me out.
Out of 3 vets I've let float teeth, only 1 did it right. And she ended up moving away after she divorced. She teamed up with a traveling dentist and still came to my area once a year, but at $180 per horse for a basic float, I couldn't afford to use her anymore. |
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