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Floating Questions

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Since we have so many horses we were thinking about trying to learn how to float teeth ourselves. We know where we can buy some floats but, are there any good books or other info about floating that we could get?

Heather Fri, 03/27/2009 - 18:05

ive been thinking about it too lately, since I do my own hooves, next is teeth... I use to work with our dentist that came to the farm and she was top notch, horses heads got hung in a ring and all power tools miner light cap , she would pull caps, file even front teeth, id get in there with her assessing the situation..All her tools were hooked up to a shop vac. The horses all did fine with it .

CMhorses Fri, 03/27/2009 - 18:10

We do our own hooves too. We figured it would save us money in the end if we bought some floats and learned how to do it ourselves.

Monsterpony Fri, 03/27/2009 - 18:55

I would advise against it (though I am biased). Floating teeth can get very technical when things are not correct in the mouth and you need to have a vet license to administer sedatives.

TwinCreeksFarm Sat, 03/28/2009 - 15:57

That'd be one thing I'd leave to the dentist or vet. To try and save money why don't you just do it on a 'need to' basis, instead of the regular yearly or bi-yearly.

Krickette Mon, 03/30/2009 - 13:29

[quote="Monsterpony"]...and you need to have a vet license to administer sedatives.[/quote]
but not to buy them or know how to use them....
my mom used to do her own sedation all the time, though not as often lately as we haven't needed it. Of course she has a degree in animal science and did a lot of that kind of thing thru college.

Monsterpony Mon, 03/30/2009 - 15:22

While it is not illegal to know how to use them, you are required to have veterinary supervision when doing so. Buying them requires a prescription.

Andrea Fri, 06/12/2009 - 15:01

After having just gone through an alignment problem in my own mouth because my dentist mucked with my bite... I'd save it for the vet. I've never known such pain! I did lose 10 lbs though!!! :o

all that sass Sat, 06/13/2009 - 22:43

i have seen people do it w/o sedation....there was a pony at a farm i worked at when i was a teenager that would allow his teeth to be done routinely without sedation and we would do it at camp weeks as an educational thing...he was very good but never had much in the way of tooth issues, it was more just a demo and not really any actual floating. he never used the thing that holds their mouth open either....the owner would just stick the float tool in there and rasp away. i think any horse in my barn would have a melt down if i tried to put it in their mouth without sedation LMAO!

Sara Sat, 06/13/2009 - 23:05

[quote] i think any horse in my barn would have a melt down if i tried to put it in their mouth without sedation LMAO![/quote]

Oh, my barn too! A lot of mine even need to be sedated again partway through.

Monsterpony Sat, 06/13/2009 - 23:23

[quote="Sara"][quote] i think any horse in my barn would have a melt down if i tried to put it in their mouth without sedation LMAO![/quote]

Oh, my barn too! A lot of mine even need to be sedated again partway through.[/quote]

The Arabians and the ponies? I was told when sedating that I should expect to have to double up on sedatives in Arabians, Appaloosas and ponies.

Sara Sun, 06/14/2009 - 00:28

And the warmbloods, which pretty much rounds out my entire population!!

Actually, I'd have to go back through all my vet records to see exactly who required extra sedation. I know for a fact Inigo required extra sedation for everything (gelding, teeth..). Rosalynn needs extra sedation, even for AI and ultrasound procedures which apparently some mares do cold sober. :roll: Owen (small pony) needed way more sedative than my vet expected when he had his teeth done this past spring. Apparently the horses in my barn really like their drugs.

accphotography Sun, 06/14/2009 - 00:53

I just tended to 7 horses at our barn to be floated. Not one of them needed sedation. I don't know if that's attributable to the horses or the dentist (he's quite good).

Lacy is a pushover doesn't take much sedative to knock her out. The vet said she gets one of the smallest amounts she ever uses. She did not have to be sedated to be palpated either (but our vet is tiny).

It's fascinating how different they all are.

accphotography Sun, 06/14/2009 - 03:45

Just the standard rasp type, speculum and the rest of the weird contraptions. Nothing electric I'm aware of.

Morgan Sun, 06/14/2009 - 13:01

I think it may have to do with how highly strung the horse is. My riding mare is 800lb of firecrackers and they allways give her too little. This spring at floating time he did get her done without giving her more though, he uses a blind fold so she stood like a statue dispite being rather well awake. He didn't get enough into V either, which I found suprising since she's usualy so calm and lazy like her momma. I'll have to watch her at training time. :lol:
Dusty is my most pathetic "baby" of a horse and he about went out cold. :laugh1 Everyone else was pretty much woken up already and he was still standing around drooling. He finally gave him the wake up shot just so we could get him back out into the paddock.

critterkeeper Sun, 06/14/2009 - 13:39

Darwin is like that - even a small shot and he is out like a light. But then you can do his teeth without sedation, as does Star, Luna and Smokey. Destiny and Maya need a little bit, Samantha a bit more, and they'd better put Patches as close to completely out as they can and be VERY quick as she will take your head off - NOBODY is allowed inside her mouth (even though the vet says her teeth are fine)

Monsterpony Sun, 06/14/2009 - 14:23

It is really variable. We had one fjord that took four times the normal dose plus topping off to get a 15 minute procedure done. Just last week another fjord could hardly stand with the normal dose.

Sara- I have been palpating and AI'ing mares all week and haven't once needed to use sedatives in any of them. I think it is highly variable.

Sara Sun, 06/14/2009 - 15:05

[quote="accphotography"]Just the standard rasp type, speculum and the rest of the weird contraptions. Nothing electric I'm aware of.[/quote]

My vet does a power float so essentially the horses have an electric drill inside their mouths. It's incredibly loud. I wouldn't let that in my mouth without sedation either! :laugh1

As far as AI and ultrasound goes, some of my mares need sedation and others don't. I remember Mira did not need sedation, and I think maybe Tickle didn't either. The way I see it though is that vets are way too valuable to be horse trainers as well. I don't have breeding stocks yet and so if my mares so much as cock a back foot at the vet, they go right for the drugs. There's no need for them to risk their career on one rank mare. ;)

accphotography Sun, 06/14/2009 - 16:17

Our vet stands along the barn/stall wall with the horse facing into the stall and her butt level with the door. She's pretty much out of the way unless the horse goes nuts.

Morgan Sun, 06/14/2009 - 16:20

My vet [i]brings [/i]stocks :lol: He's pretty cool. Last time when he was done he went to the back seat of his truck, typed into his laptop and printed out an invoice. :laugh1
He practically has a portable office.

Sara Sun, 06/14/2009 - 17:12

[quote="accphotography"]Our vet stands along the barn/stall wall with the horse facing into the stall and her butt level with the door. She's pretty much out of the way unless the horse goes nuts.[/quote]

That's pretty much what mine tries first, only with a grooming stall. The mare goes backwards into the grooming stall so she's facing the back wall and my vet does the exam kind of partially protected by the half wall of the grooming stall. Breeding stocks are on my wish list. :D

And yeah, they have laptops and whatnot so they can print invoices right there. The vet truck is truly a mobile clinic!

Jenks Sun, 08/16/2009 - 07:23

[quote="Monsterpony"][quote="Sara"][quote] i think any horse in my barn would have a melt down if i tried to put it in their mouth without sedation LMAO![/quote]

Oh, my barn too! A lot of mine even need to be sedated again partway through.[/quote]

The Arabians and the ponies? I was told when sedating that I should expect to have to double up on sedatives in Arabians, Appaloosas and ponies.[/quote]

One full cc dormosedan to start out with barely made it half way through the float on MAYBE 800 lb arab Ser.

.4cc for my 1200 lb paint mare and she couldn't stand up. We had to prop her backend in the corner and constantly readjust her front end.

And they say they're sensitive, but I never knew it was like that!