We recently did Bella's teeth for the first time. It is amazing that at age 10, her teeth were nearly perfect, but that is not unusual for a mustang that spent time in the wild from my experience. Her teeth looked like a domestic horses that has had dentistry for many years. There were very few corrections needed on her molars.
What was no doubt causing her pain and affecting her stance and receptiveness to her head being handled was a diagonal on her incisors caused by a chipped tooth on the lower arcade.
As you can see from the photo, the tooth directly to the right of the chipped tooth had started to grow over the chipped area and had erupted taller than the other lower teeth causing the upper teeth to cross at a diagonal instead of laterally when she chewed.
This type of diagonal causes extra pressure on the TMJ causing pain that can radiate through the pole and down the spine. Dee, her trainer, noted a change in her stance the very next day. She was relaxing more and her feet were more squarely underneath her. She also had better range of flexing in her neck.
It will take a short time for the adjustment to the TMJ now that the incisors are working accurately. Then she will be ready to continue her training. We may also call in our chiropractor - Dawn Fletcher of Medicine Hat Animal Chiropractic, to give her any adjustments she may need to help get her skeletal system back in line.
All in all, Bella is doing better and we are glad.
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