Dental surgery for Doc

A couple weeks ago the vet came out for our horse's annual check up, vaccinations, and teeth floating.

 
Teeth floating is never fun.  The horse has to be tranquilized while the vet files down the sharp points on their teeth.  Horses have a stay mechanism in their knees that usually keep them from falling down, but this time Doc fell down during the recovery phase.  Luckily, he was in the stall by himself so neither he or any people were injured. 


 
Jasper's teeth were just fine, but Doc wasn't so lucky.

 
Doc has a condition called Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis or EOTRH.  Basically this is a build up of calcified tissue around the roots of the teeth.  Several of Doc's teeth are already dead.
 

Next week he has to be transported to the vet clinic to have his incisors removed.  From everything I've read he will still have quality of life afterwards and will learn how to eat without those front teeth.  Apparently the condition he has can be quite painful so removing those teeth will make him feel better.

He hasn't been in a trailer for probably 10 years.  It's apt to be quite a fiasco around our place when it's time to load him up.  Wish Irv luck--he says he can do it all by himself.

It's just a geriatric farm at our place!

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