Is there an age you stop floating teeth?  I have a 24 yr old that looks good and isn't dropping feed.  He doesn't get much done when he does get his floated but I am wondering at what point do you stop? I feed him soaked cubes and he's on pasture.  He eats his feed soaked as well and does great 

I have a 29 year old.  At 28 she was floated and dentist said there wasn't much to do.  She also looks good and doesn't drop food either.  I will have her checked with the others, but that was probably her last time.

I vaguely remember my dentist telling me that last time but I will double check with him this round... I just remember him saying make sure his cubes are soaked and I do... he has always gobbled food fast so choke has always scared me for him

Thank you!

I get mine done or at least checked every year regardless of age. Especially if they are having trouble with their food. Sometimes when they get older, they need teeth pulled etc. Make sure whoever is doing their teeth is a qualified equine dentist. We used to get ours done by the vet and they didn't do near as good of a job and so many issues got left unfixed.

There is such a broad range of issues in this topic, that the right answer is different for just about every horse. Depending on a particular horse's history, teeth should be checked for potential mouth discomfort as they age, not just for the way one tooth indexes to the next tooth. By this I mean, "can the horse comfortably chew it's food as much as it needs to without pain". A bad tooth, hooks on the inside of the lowers, or a ridge on the outside of the uppers that can irritate either the side of the tongue or inside of the cheek can result in the roughage part of the diet to only being chewed enough to swallow but not enough to be properly digested. This starts a chain reaction of ineffeciency in the digestive system that results in loss of condition that senior horses need to thrive. So, what would be considered a typical float might not be necessary, or even wise if there is not much left to work on. But, if there are hooks, ridges or bad teeth that need to be extracted, those should be addressed in the least intrusive way possible for as long as that horse may live. 

The horse's roughage needs to be chewed as much as possible for more complete digestion in the hind gut. If this does not happen, much of the nutrition in that roughage will end up on the ground behind the horse. This can be particularly important in older horses. 

Thanks you guys! I actually had the dentist out yesterday and he did check him, said he looked balanced and was good.  So he didn't do him, he said he will check him again next year or if needed he will come back.  But the ole guy looks pretty good still and loves his mash of alfalfa cubes every am and pm... I never seem to have one get to this age, I am blessed to still have him... he's been a great horse and I will do all I can for him.

Everything everyone said makes absoulte sense too.. thank you all for the input!  

Once their teeth are fully erupted, any "floating" can cause them to loosen.  Our dentist will only work on them IF needed at that stage.  (of course, this means you should have had regular dental work done previously so teeth are in good shape at that point.)   My old guy is now 31 and his favorite grain is rolled barley - the hardest grain there is.  He does NOT like any senior feed, and will stand & nicker for his barley!  So I give him as much as he wants at this point.  And he still eats hay, with very seldom a quid.  Same certified dentist has done his teeth for 20 years, and he still has almost all of his teeth.

I just had three 26-year-olds floated. They didn't need much. Dentist said there was a little wave. He said you don't have to do much when they get older. They will start losing teeth and if they lose one, the one above it or below it will grow too long and so you have to watch that one. He said sometimes they'll get a loose tooth and the dentist will just "pop it out." But not much to do when they are older. You still should check now and then, especially if they are losing weight or dropping a lot of grain. 

When I see a horse on a proper diet that is not maintaining condition, I almost always find an issue in that horses mouth. If your horse has hooks on the inside of the lowers, or a ridge on the outside of the uppers, they may eat as much but not chew it enough for proper digestion. The result is that much of the forage nutrition ends up on the ground behind the horse. I feel that regular checks for both of these conditions remain important at any age. Perhaps a full float is not needed late in life, but comfort to be able to use the teeth that are there is. Taking those hooks or ridges off can make a huge difference in how a horse maintains condition in later life.