| All teeth are made up of enamel - a hard but brittle | | | | creature, living in woodland eating different structures. |
| structure; cementum - produced continuously at the | | | | They were also thought to have been used if / when |
| base of the tooth enabling the tooth to attach to the | | | | defending themselves. They are not usually seen in |
| periodontal ligament; dentine - this is produced | | | | mares although some are known to throw rogue |
| continuously and is a soft structure supporting nutrients | | | | canines. Geldings can show up to 4 canines, one in |
| for growth | | | | each quadrant of the mouth. Wolf teeth used to be |
| Incisors | | | | premolars but over the years of evolution they have |
| Horses have 6 on their top jaw and 6 on their bottom | | | | become vestigial teeth (whose roots have not fully |
| jaw. All of these are deciduous (baby teeth), and are | | | | formed), giving them no purpose at all. Mares and |
| lost when the permanent teeth come in. Generally | | | | Geldings can show between 1 and 4 wolf teeth and |
| horses lose their 1st incisors at 2.5 years, their middle | | | | can appear from 6 months of age. |
| incisors at 3.5 years and their corner incisors at 4.5 | | | | Premolar and Molar Teeth |
| years. These are used primarily in a pincer action to | | | | These teeth have a very substantial root, the maxillary |
| tear off grass or pick up food. They begin their life | | | | molars (uppers) have 3 roots and the mandibular |
| oval in shape but as the horse ages become more | | | | (lower) have 2 roots. The maxillary check teeth are |
| triangular. The incisors are used as a good indicator | | | | wider and squarer than the mandibular teeth which are |
| when aging horses. The combination of wear patterns | | | | longer and thinner in shape. They are the teeth used to |
| and the shape of the tooth enable a skilled eye to | | | | masticate (grind) the hard structures eaten by horses. |
| work out the age of horses. | | | | They have a thick enamel outer which folds in around |
| Canines and Wolf Teeth | | | | the edge of the tooth which, with the support of the |
| Canine and Wolf teeth are remnants of the | | | | inner dentine, provides a structurally strong grinding |
| evolutionary process. Canine teeth were thought to | | | | surface. |
| have been used then the horse was a much smaller | | | | |