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Comment by Shirley on December 2, 2010 at 5:05pm

I am in central Michigan.

Comment by Inka Spatafora on December 2, 2010 at 4:33pm

Where are you located? May I can help you.

Comment by Shirley on December 2, 2010 at 4:00pm

Inka, You are absolutely right about being educated yourself. I still really don't know for sure that this guy is checking all the things you mentioned. I believe that he went to one of the best schools in US for equestrian dentistry. I only know this because one of the gals at the barn had looked into going to equine dental school and she had determined after doing some research which school was suppose to be the best and it's the one this falla had gotten his training with. It is also the only job this fella has, it's his full time job. Not something he does a few times a month. I do think it would be great to go to a clinic on this subject but I have not seen one offered in the area. I'll have to find his business card and see if he has the same letters after his name. All 'seems' good. But that doesn't mean all is good.

Comment by Inka Spatafora on December 2, 2010 at 3:34pm

Thanks for your comment!
You are absolutely correct. You need to know the people that are coming out to work on your horses. You also need to be educated your self and know what should be worked on and in what detail. I used to use my regular Vet and yes he used sedation and power-tools. Then I went to an equine dental clinic to see what an actual dentist would do. Boy I learned a lot. They checked the balance of the jaw, the bite, TMJ, lateral excursions and the incisor angle. This was a husband and wife team. She is a DVM and her husband is the dentist ACEqD. They are coming on a regular basis to my barn to work on the horses. I pay between $125 and $175 depending on the horse. I guess I am lucky to have found these guys. I always compare it to going the specialist versus the DO.

Comment by Shirley on December 2, 2010 at 2:26pm

Why? I'm curious how you thought it was better.

I have had two different vets do my guy three time with the tranquilizer & power tools. They did it in my horses stall. Farm call $45, sedation $45, and procedure $50. = $140. All went okay.

Then I had a fella that called himself an equine orthodontist. My alternative vet highly recommended this fella. He used no tranquilizer or power tools. He did put a homeopathic concoction on my horses nose to help relax him. He also restrained my horse in his stall. I was amazed how well it went. This fella cost $150. I tried him cause I do not like the risk of sedation when not necessary and I'm more comfortable with manual tools rather then electric power tools. I was very pleased with this visit.

Last week we had a fella come to the barn that had been recommended by a respected fellow horse owner acquantance. This fella used no tranquilizer or power tools. He took the horse into the indoor arena so it wouldn't feel claustrophobic and then held a lead rope himself. Then he rubbed the horses nose firmly to cue it to put it's head down and relax. That did not take long at all with any of the five horses he did. Then he put the thing on that keeps their mouth open and away he went with his manual file. He did something with mine he didn't do with the other 4. He used some big clippers and snipped the ends of his 'fighting teeth' off and then filed and buffed them down so they weren't sharp. If the horse started to back up he just directed it with his body to circle backwards if they needed to back and he just backed with him and kept on filing. All was done with no excitedment or apparent stress and he charged a total of $50. How nice when the person whose method you like best charges a third less then the others.