When there is Pain in the Mouth...Training goes South

Whenever I have a training issue with a horse, the first thing that comes to mind is that there is a break in communication between the horse and me. Next, I have to figure out what is happening or not happening to cause the lack of understanding.

It is our nature of humans to make the assumption that a horse is simply not listening or behaving badly. It has been my experience that if a horse isn't listening, it is because he doesn't understand the question (human error) or he is in some kind of distress that makes it very hard for him to pay attention.

The first place I tend to look is for obvious signs of discomfort. Since you know that I am going to talk about the teeth, it might be helpful to know symptoms of mouth pain. Other than observing a horse having trouble chewing his food or dropping more grain on the ground than that which makes it to his belly or having an hard time with his bit, the other symptoms may surprise you.

I submit that the root of any number of seemingly unrelated training issues can be traced right to the horses mouth.

It is wise to have proper dental care done by an experienced equine dentist at least once a year or when you just can't pinpoint a problem. In the upcoming issue of Natural Horse Magazine www.naturalhorse.com, I will be uncovering clues to help you understand how you might recognise dental issues in your horse.

* Phil Ratliff pictured, works in conjunction with veterinarian Dr. Diane Wagner VMD