Basic Sciences Bldg. 2001 S. Lincoln Ave. It is incorrect to assume that if a horse's body condition is normal, his teeth are okay. Clues to why horses may develop dental disease lie in its natural history. The constant grinding and chewing is good for horse's teeth, which keep growing, or erupting, throughout its life.
Teeth can also wear incorrectly.
Often that happens when horses are kept inside and fed grain. The sharp points can irritate the horse's mouth, causing a host of problems from oral ulcers to tooth loss and irreversible dental damage. To understand the way dental problems in horses are rooted in what the horse eats, compare how you chew lettuce with how you chew nuts. The chewing motion for each of those foods is different. Sharp edges can cut into a horse's cheek and be quite painful.