Determining age, height, and weight of horses Flashcards

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1
Q

How long is a horse considered a foal?

A

Until they are weaned

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2
Q

How old is a weanling?

A

6 months to 1 year

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3
Q

How old is a yearling?

A

1 year to 2 years

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4
Q

What is a colt?

A

A male horse until 3 years old

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5
Q

What is a filly?

A

A female horse until 3 years old

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6
Q

Age is important for ____.

A

Competitive events

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7
Q

For racing or showing the foal’s birthdate is considered ____ regardless of the actual month.
What is an advantage? Disadvantage?

A

January 1
Advantage - everyone is the same
Disadvantage - physical/mental maturity won’t be the same

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8
Q

What is the best method for aging horses?

A

Records and papers

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9
Q

True or False?

Determining age by teeth is inaccurate

A

False: determining age by teeth is fairly accurate

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10
Q

When does it become more challenging to determine age by teeth?

A

10-14 years

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11
Q

The 12 front teeth are called ____.

A

Incisors

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12
Q

Two central pairs above and below called ____, ____, or ____.

A

centrals, pincers or nippers

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13
Q

Four teeth adjacent to the central pairs are called ____.

A

intermediates

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14
Q

Outer four teeth are designated as ____.

A

corners

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15
Q

What teeth may appear midway between the incisors and molars at 4-5 years of age?

A

Canine teeth

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16
Q

Canine teeth appear about what age?

A

4-5 years

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17
Q

True or False?

Canine teeth frequently appear in mares

A

False: canine teeth seldom appear in mares

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18
Q

How many molar teeth do adult horses have?

A

24 molar teeth

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19
Q

What are 4 keys to estimating horse age?

A
  1. Occurrence of permanent teeth
  2. Disappearance of cups
  3. Angle of incidence
  4. Shape of the surface of the teeth
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20
Q

How many sets of teeth do horses have?

A

Two: one temporary, one permanent

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21
Q

The temporary set of teeth are called what?

A

Baby or milk teeth

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22
Q

When do baby or milk teeth erupt?

A

They usually erupt in pairs at 8 days, 8 weeks, 8 months

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23
Q

Compared to baby teeth, permanent teeth are ____, ____, ____.

A

larger, longer, darker in color

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24
Q

When do the center permanent teeth appear?

A

3 years old

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25
Q

When do the intermediate permanent teeth appear?

A

4 years old

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26
Q

When do the corner permanent teeth appear?

A

5 years old

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27
Q

When is a horse considered to have a full mouth?

A

When they have all of their permanent teeth

28
Q

What is a cup?

A

Center of the tooth surface, young teeth have deep indentures

29
Q

Cups in the upper teeth are usually ____ than the lower.

A

Deeper

30
Q

When does a horse have a smooth mouth?

A

11 years old

31
Q

As ____ disappear, ____ appear

A

cups, dental stars

32
Q

What is the angle of incidence?

A

Angle formed by the meeting of the upper and lower incisor teeth (profile view)

33
Q

“Contact” changes from ___-___ degrees in young horses, to less than a right angle

A

160-180

34
Q

As the slant increases teeth do not ____

A

wear evenly

35
Q

When does a hook form in the upper corners?

A

7 years old

36
Q

Teeth appear ____ and ____ in young horses and may be twice as ___ as they are ____.

A

flat and broad; wide; deep

37
Q

At 8-12 years old teeth appear ____.

A

oval

38
Q

At older than 15 teeth appear ____.

A

round

39
Q

At older than 20 teeth appear ____.

A

triangular

40
Q

After 20 years of age teeth may be twice as ____ as they are ____

A

deep; wide

41
Q

When does the Galvayne’s groove appear?

A

Around 9 years old

42
Q

Where is the galvaynes groove visible?

A

At the margin or the gum on the upper corner incisors

43
Q

What is cementum?

A

hard material that forms part of the tooth

44
Q

What is the crown?

A

The part of the tooth that can be seen

45
Q

____ and ____ (interweaving of both) are important for grinding and chewing feed.

A

Hard enamel; dentin

46
Q

Horses rarely have ____ or ____

A

tooth decay; gum disease

47
Q

True or False?

If a tooth is lost or worn abnormally the opposing tooth continues to grow

A

True

48
Q

Feed packing into the gum line can ____.

A

infect the tooth socket and its sinus

49
Q

When more than one tooth is dominant the tooth arcade will have high and low sections which result in ____

A

wave mouth, step mouth, shear mouth

50
Q

The upper jaw is slightly ____ than the lower jaw

A

wider and slower in wear

51
Q

Why float?

A
  1. the upper jaw is slightly wider and slower in wear than the lower jaw
  2. lateral grinding motion
    - can make chiseled edges that can damage soft tissues
    - inner edges can injure tongue
    - outer edges of upper teeth can injure the cheeks
52
Q

When should you float? What should you be looking for?

A
  1. Weight changes
  2. Changes in the horse’s behavior
  3. Drop feed out of it’s mouth
  4. Hold head to one side while chewing
  5. Throwing head while riding (bit pressure)
53
Q

When measuring horses, ____, ____, and ____ are influenced by age. Also affected by breed, type, sex, and nutrition.

A

height, weight and girth

54
Q

Height is measured in ____ equivalent to ____

A

Hands; 4 inches

55
Q

Where is height measured to?

A

The highest point of the withers to the ground

56
Q

Does height influence price?

A

No

57
Q

Are ponies cheaper?

A

No

58
Q

What are two important factors for knowing a horse’s weight?

A
  1. How much they can carry

2. How much they need to eat

59
Q

What is an equation to determine body weight without a scale?

A

(heart girth x heart girth x body length)/330

60
Q

What two measurements do you need to know for determining weight without a scale

A

Heart girth and body length

61
Q

What does BCS stand for?

A

Body Condition Score

62
Q

What is the body condition score scale?

A

1-9

63
Q

Body condition score is based on fat cover in: ____, ____, _____

A

Neck, withers, barrel

64
Q

What is an ideal BCS?

A

5

65
Q

A horse with a BCS score of 1 is ____ while a horse with a BCS score of 9 is ____

A

emaciated; obese