When bridled horses toss their heads up, they are typically resisting the bit either due to a large hook or interfering wolf teeth. Wolf teeth can also cause a horse to be inflexible in the jaw to resist the pain of the wolf teeth contacting the bit. Since wolf teeth can cause pain and poor performance, they should be removed while the horse is young.
Typically, wolf teeth are located on the upper jaw as the first premolar teeth. Wolf teeth are not to be confused with the canine teeth and are rarely found on the bottom jaw. Wolf teeth are also not sex related, meaning that they can be found in both fillies and colts.
Just because a horse has wolf teeth does not mean they will erupt. For example, sometimes horses will only have 1-wolf tooth or none. These teeth tend to appear when a horse is 5-12 months old and are small in size.
For older horses that still have wolf teeth but seem unbothered by them, it is recommended to just leave them in. If the wolf teeth are located in the normal position, there is no reason to remove a tooth that is not influencing the horse or interfering with the bit. Yet, if the wolf teeth prohibit the creation of a bit seat, they will likely have to be removed since they can cause hooks on adjacent teeth.
By Anna Hellman
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