As explained in the previous page, horses have what are called Hypsodont teeth, which means they are long crowned and they erupt throughtout the horses life. As the teeth erupt they get worn down by the grinding action when a horse eats. As they grind their teeth to break down the food, they create sharp edges, these are found on the outside of the upper molar teeth and inside of the lower molar teeth. These points can cause the horse a lot of discomfort, if they are not removed regularly (every 6-12 months). This discomfort involves sores being created on the cheeks and tongue of the horse and can be made worst by tight nose bands.

Bit Seats

In order to make the horse more comfortable, not only by removing the sharp points on the molars, but also to encourage the horse to soften and accept the bit better when being worked, I create bit seats, which is basically rounding off the front edges (mesial) of the lower and upper second premolar (106/206/306/406). This means that when the rider/driver takes the contact on the bit, there are no sharp edges and are therefore more comfortable and more obliging to accepting the bit.  

A basic float is removing the sharp points as mentioned above and creating bit seats as also mentioned above. On the following pages I will go into more depth about other problems that can be found in the horses mouth without regular care.