HOPE'S BIT BLOG - All about horse bits! Hope's Bit Blog - Issue 2 | Page 2

Be there with the dentist so you can ask a
few questions.
Ø

Is my horse’s mouth a normal mouth?

Ø

Is there anything abnormal about my horses mouth?

Ø

Does he have any teeth that would interfere with his bit?

Ø

Does he have thick lips that would get pinched by his bit.

Ø

Does he have any scarring on his tongue?

Ø

Does he have a low palate?

As owners and trainers we should be opening up and
looking inside the mouth of all the horses we are training.
Ø We need to check for cuts, grooves or scares on the
tongue and on the corners of the mouth.
Ø We also need to be checking for bruising on the bars of the
mouth, the skin-covered bone between the front teeth
and the molars.
Ø I also test the consistency of the tongue. Is it soft and
tender or leathery tough?
Ø And don’t forget the wolf teeth, they are the small teeth
that not all horses have that grow in in front of the top
molars. These may be pulled or they may interfere with
the way the bit sits in a horse’s mouth.
Ø What about the thickness of their lips on the sides of their
mouths. That is where the bit may compress the lip
against the molars.

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