Having wolf teeth is a definite plus for a wolf; having canine teeth is a great advantage for meat eating members of the canine species; but why in the world should horses have either?

More importantly, how do all these teeth relate to the use of a bit in the mouth of the horse?

Horses, as we all know, are herbivores (grass eaters) and need teeth that are adapted for biting and chewing grasses and grains. In spite of this logic, when studying the design of the teeth located within the mouth of the horse, words appear that conjures up images of FANGS and predators. Let's take a closer look at the structure of the mouth of the horse to try and gain a better perspective on this perplexing nomenclature.

The horse has 12 front teeth (incisors), 24 molars and premolars (two of which are referred to a wolf teeth) and the possibility of 4 canine teeth. A horse endowed with all these possibilities has a grand total of 40 teeth. While this might seem like quite a mouthful, it isn't for the horse.

Amidst all these teeth, the horse, also, has a rather large gap, commonly referred to as the bars, which is located between the front teeth and jaw teeth (molars). Discovery of this anatomical "Achilles heel" has allowed man to use his most dexterous appendage, his hands, to control an animal ten times more powerful than himself. By resting a bit on the bars of the mouth, pressure can be exerted over the sensitive corners of the gums. This system of control has worked well for the last four thousand years but today, unfortunately, many horsemen are less acquainted with the inside of a horse's mouth than our equestrian ancestors who knew that not all bars were created the same.

While the bars exists on both the upper and lower jaws of all horses, some horses have canine teeth located on the bars a short distance behind the last incisors. The appearance of these canine teeth has often been described as a sex-linked characteristic which means, in this case, that only male horses are apt to grow such abhorrences. The rule of thumb is to expect these teeth to appear on both the upper and lower jaw around the age of full maturity (five years of age).

However, examine the mouths of several horses and you are likely to find exceptions to these general assumptions. First of all, even though the characteristic appears to be somewhat sex-linked, twenty percent of all mares will have at least a couple of canine teeth. Add this to the fifty percent of the population that is male and a quick addition shows that seventy percent of all horses have some canine teeth.

This leads to the second exception: horses do not necessarily have to have four canine teeth. Mares commonly have two but a quick survey will provide horses with anywhere from one to four tusks. With such a lack of any clear cut design, the first question that pops into a questioning mind is - why do horses have them? What purpose do they serve?

For the modern horse, the answer is probably none but we must remember that the horse has been an evolving species for 65 million years. This fact has led scientists to speculate that during some prehistoric period, male horses may have benefited from the presence of these canine rippers when fighting other male horses for supremacy rights. But today the canine teeth fall into the same category as other vestige structures such as the splint bones and night chestnuts and what we need to know about them is that if the bit is placed properly in the horse's mouth, the canine teeth will not interfere with the action of the bit; nor can the horse use them to chew on the bit.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with the other carnivorously named teeth. The wolf teeth appear on the upper jaw of both males and females as pre molars. As the term indicates, these small pointed teeth reside immediately in front of the upper molars. As a bit is pulled up a horse's mouth, it slides backwards along the bars and bangs upon these rather sensitive teeth causing discomfort and distraction.

When wolf teeth are present, many horses are said to fight the bit. They sling their heads around, trying to escape from bit contact. They may also mouth or chew on the bit - all efforts which could be described as trying to reject bit pressure. While these actions are also common in horses who haven't been trained properly to accept the bit, the presence of wolf teeth is often times overlooked as the major obstruction to the performance of a horse in a bridle.

Although most horses will loose their wolf teeth by three, current economic pressures encourage horses to be broke and riding in a snaffle bit by the age of two. To support this practice, it is imperative to remove the wolf teeth before asking the horse to carry a bit in his mouth. The root of the wolf tooth is shallow and removal is relatively simply accomplished by delivering a solid blow to a chisel like tool that is placed at the base of the tooth.

It is our practice to check for wolf teeth in the mouths of every horse that comes in for training. This has led to some interesting observations. We have seen wolf teeth in four, five and six year old racehorses; the granddaddy being a thirteen year old gelding.

The bottom line of this discussion is that much more attention needs to be paid to the inside of a horse's mouth. The communication and control of the horse that is gained through contact with the sensitive parts of his mouth can be destroyed simply by the failure to remove these wolf teeth. Obviously this is true in the young two year old but it should be suspect in horses of all ages who show signs of fighting the bit.

So DON'T pay heed to that old adage about looking a gift horse in the mouth. DO be sure that any horse being ridden with a bit has a mouth free of wolf teeth.