I wish i could knock my dad in the head!

So just a minute ago my dad asked me if the guy I work for has a thingy the vet uses to hold horses mouths open... I said no why? He said because his bosses horse needs its teeth filed!! THEY want to do it without any pain meds!!!! I told him to call the vet and if he didn't have the money to shoot the horse! (the horse is old and can't eat properly...i guess I havn't seen it). I also told him if he did that I would tie him up and file his teeth off! (the ones he has left, lol) that's crazy!
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Since when do horses need pain meds to have their teeth floated? Last time my horse got his done he wasn't even sedated...Just sayin.
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Yeah, I agree, however, sedation for placing a gag in to hold the mouth open.....pain meds/anesthesia for more invasive procedures......a lot of equine dentists can do it without a gag unless they want to use a motorized filer - which requires a gag.......

Ps. Don't get too mad at your Dad, he won't be around forever and you'll look back at this and giggle:)

At least they have good intentions of helping the horse, but yes they should probably have a vet come out haha

Okay. They don't need sedated or anything I didnt know that, I just assumed because i'v never seen it done, but still, two completly unexperianced people floating a horses teeth?! Without the horse seeing a vet the teeth may not even be the problem. Who knows? Is that crazy or am I?
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They don't need pain meds but a light sedation is nice. I wish I could have that for the dentist-for myself.

My horses both get sedated...

Lots of horses are fine with having their teeth floated and don't need any type of sedation. Some horses hate it so need a mild sedation otherwise it can get dangerous. My horse is a nightmare to worm so I figured getting his teeth done would be an issue, after 10 minutes of backing up, head tossing and some small rears the lady gave up and said I would need to book a vet to sedate him first. Unless the horse objects strongly or needs some serious dental work done it shouldnt need any kind of sedation and/or pain relief.

Never sedated a horse for floating. Never needed to. Never had an issue using a speculum for holding the mouth open.. tho on old horses we typically just held the tongue to one side.

I have floated a horse's teeth.. but you do need the correct files and some knowledge. They have angled handles for a reason. I did this to learn how under supervision (vet with experience). Had a horse that had to be floated every 3 months (shear mouth) so it was economically reasonable to get the files etc and learn how.

BTW doing this did NOT exempt me for annual or bi-annual check ups by the vet.. we simply agreed it was better for all concerned for me to learn how.

Done correctly, this work does not hurt the horse. You are not filing the sensitive part of the tooth.

No sedation needed if the horse stands for it and its just a routine float. However I'd agree it should be done be a vet/dentist. An old horse may need a tooth pulled ect...