Wolf Teeth in Horses

Q:

What are wolf teeth in horses and is it true that only males get them?

A:

Wolf teeth are small teeth "left over" from when the horse was the size of a small collie dog, many evolutionary years ago. They probably had some use then, but not anymore.

If the horse has wolf teeth, they are located just in front of the first cheek tooth where a bit would be located in a horse's mouth. We routinely take them out to keep the horse from being bothered by the bit hitting them when ridden.

We find wolf teeth in both males and females, overall, about 85% of all horses. Some horses do not have any at all.

What you are thinking of with your comment about "only males having them" are CANINE teeth. Canines are between the front teeth and the cheek teeth and erupt at approximately age five in males. These are male fighting teeth which mother nature put there specifically for fighting and protecting the herd in the wild. These teeth are still very much in existence, unlike the wolf teeth that have modified down to being useless in today's equine. We don't take canines out as they are not in the way of the bit but we do round them off to keep them from getting sharp.

Richard Vetter, DVM
Performance Equine Dental and Veterinary
Buckley, Wa

• < Prev
• Next >