QUESTION

Do horses have baby teeth?

ANSWER

Like humans, a horse has two sets of teeth in his lifetime. The baby teeth, called deciduous teeth, are temporary. The first deciduous incisors may erupt before the foal is born. The last deciduous teeth come in when the horse is about 8 months old. These baby teeth will begin to be replaced by adult teeth at around the age of 2½, and by age 5, most horses have all of their permanent teeth.

For more questions and answers, or to pose your own questions, visit the horse owner section of www.aaep.org and participate in the “Ask a Vet” forum by posing your health-related questions to our experts for that month’s topic. As the world’s largest professional association for equine veterinarians, the American Association of Equine Practitioners – an AQHA alliance partner – is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of the horse.