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September 2016 THE HORSE TheHorse.com
FARMCALL
TheHorse.com/Farm-Call
This column features readers' questions on specific illnesses, diseases, and conditions, with answers from American Association of Equine Practitioners members or their designates.
Send questions to FarmCall@TheHorse.com, or The Horse, 3101 Beaumont Centre Circle, Suite 100, Lexington, KY 40513. Questions will be edited for publication and must include
the author's name, address, and daytime telephone number. Farm Call is compiled by Managing Editor Alexandra Beckstett.
TheHorse.com/Farm-Call
Q
I have searched the internet and TheHorse.com, but I
cannot find any information on Shetland ponies and their
age progression. I have a pony who is a rescue, and I have
no idea how old he is, which limits what I can do with him. Can
you possibly shed some light on how I can estimate his age?
Sarah Roundtree
via e-mail
A
In general, ponies live longer than horses. They are
thought to be genetically more hardy than horses. Without
knowledge of an actual birthdate, aging any equid, pony
or horse, can be tricky and must be done by tooth eruption and
wear. You can estimate age fairly closely in the first 10 years of
life but the older the animal is, the harder it is to be exact. This
is mainly because the wear of the teeth can be influenced by
what the horse eats. If they eat off sandy ground or they have a
cribbing vice, they may wear the teeth down more quickly. You
can usually still estimate within a five-year span.
Horses or ponies in their 20s have the appearance of a groove,
called the Galvayne's groove, in their lateral upper incisor that is
supposed to begin appearing at 20, be halfway down the tooth by
25, and all the way down by 30. It then begins to disappear from
the top. Of course many equids don't follow the "book." Your
veterinarian might be able to give you some estimate. No matter
what the exact age of the pony is, if it is over 20 then having your
veterinarian do a basic health check and dental is a good idea.
Mary Rose Paradis, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM (LAIM)
Associate Professor Emerita
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Tufts University
How Old is My Pony?
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