# Teeth Grinding!! HELP



## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Teeth grinding is a sign of pain, usually a belly ache. But it can be caused by stress. I would have him checked by the vet if you haven't already to see if you can find out where his pain is coming from.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Vidaloco is right on target. Your horse is most likely has a chronic painful condition and one of the common ones with teeth grinding is ulcers. If your avatar is you and your horse then I can tell you that your horse is in a situation where the risk of ulcers is increases--hauling, training, competition setting. 

Definitely talk to your vet.

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=5487&kw=gastric ulcers


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

I found this article and it did say things about grinding of teeth, horses in training, and stress. and all of those things aply. I was thinking there is another pasture away from the other ones where there are a few run in stalls where 2 other horses are and i was thinking since its not as stressful up there maybe he could go up there. its just the only thing is its a little dangerous up there specialy cuzz when i come up it gets dark pretty fast and i dont want to walk up there in the pitch black. heres the article tell me what you think!

http://gastrogard.us.merial.com/equine_ulcers.asp


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

If it is ulcers, pasture turnout may help but it's not going to get rid of the problem. Ulcers will unfortunately continue to be a problem until you actually treat them.


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

alright thanks. I am definiatly going to tell my instructor about ulcers today because i dont think she knows much about them. I also printed out a very good article about them.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Great idea. It's always easier to get people to pay attention when you have something to back up what you are saying.


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

Thanks for all your help! and i will let you know what happens when i inform my instructor about it! Thanks!


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

Hey guys. well I had the owner of the barn talk to the dentist about the article i found and he said that he saw a horse that had stomach ulcers before and they gave the horse 4 pepto bismals 2 times a day with its food. Is that strange? tell me what you think
Thanks


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

While pepto may help ease the pain associated with ulcers, it is far from a treatment especially with only dosing twice a day. Antacids would need to be dosed every 2-3 hours to be effective at maintaining lower acidity in the stomach to allow ulcers to heal. 
Ranitidine or cimetidine may be given to treat ulcers, but they still need to be dosed every 6-8 hours without fail to maintain a constant lower acidity in the stomach. The easiest treatment to actually allow the ulcers to heal is Gastroguard (omeprazole) given once a day, the drawback is that it's expensive.

But unless you actually TREAT the ulcers appropriately they do not heal and they can continue to worsen due to the lifestyle of the horse.


Question: why is an equine dentist diagnosing and prescribing treatment for ulcers? Is he a veterinarian as well?


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

Thanks. the cost is one of the problems of why we cant get Gastrogaurd. and yes the dentist is a former vet also.Thanks again


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

You could try the Pepto and see if it has any effect. Ulcers aren't the only cause of teeth grinding but it would help if you could eliminate it as a cause. I would hate to see you spend $$ on a cure if it isnt the cause :?


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

Hey. thanks for the reply. What else can cause teeth grinding? Thanks!!!


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

Hey. thanks for the reply. What else can cause teeth grinding? Thanks!!!


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

Hey. thanks for the reply. What else can cause teeth grinding? Thanks!!!


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Here is an article I found. 

What does teeth grinding mean? I think there is a horse in our barn that does it sometimes. 

Teeth grinding is one of those things that is difficult to describe, but you know it when you hear it. The sound is quite unique, a muffled rhythmic grinding, louder than the loudest gut sounds. And if you look closely, you can see the jaws moving in sync with the sound. 

Teeth grinding is almost always associated with physical pain or discomfort probably of a fairly high degree. Teeth grinding can be associated with pain of various origins, but is a fairly common with gastrointestinal pain (belly ache). 

It has been suggested that teeth grinding can result from psychological or social stress in horses. If it does, it is likely fairly uncommon in otherwise healthy, pain-free horses. So, whenever teeth grinding occurs, we should probably look long and hard for physical pain and mention it to the vet. 
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Is the horse getting lots of forage (hay), Maybe too many supplement? Horse guts are pretty complex, so it could be a multitude of things. I'm not a vet so I won't even try to diagnose.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

Hey Cambria Sara posted this on another thread thought you might find it interesting
http://www.dressagedaily.com/2007/dd_200709/dd_20070906-gumbits.html


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## CambriaStables (Nov 3, 2007)

hey thanksVidaloco. i was wondering if you knew if that was only for when your riding with the bit in their mouth or for any time. because my pony does it constantly and rarely when i ride.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I'm not sure but I would definitly give them a call, its worth a try. Here is the web site for the bits themselves and there is a phone #
http://www.gambitatlanta.com/


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