Equine Dentistry Part 7 - THE HAND AS A SPECULUM - Equine Dentistry Without Drama™

Using the hand as a speculum has many advantages over the fixed metal speculum. For one, I never leave it in a barn! Here I also use my fingers to feel as I float which allows me to adjust where I place the blade.

For those who say that hand floating is damaging to the soft tissues of the horse's mouth - I say my fingers disagree.

The horse's response at the end of this is typical - relaxed and grateful.

Video Of Equine Dentistry Without Drama™ by Geoff Tucker, DVM is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The information contained in the blog or web site here is for information only and is the opinion of Geoff Tucker, DVM. It is not intended to replace your relationship with your veterinarian nor is it to be considered an attempt to diagnose or treat your animal. You need to discuss any and all medical conditions with your veterinarian who has established a relationship with you and your horse.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• horse tooth
• horse teeth
• equine dental
• equine dentist
• equine dentistry
• equine veterinary
• equine veterinarian
• horse vet
• horse vet care
• float teeth
• floating teeth
• floating horse teeth
• horse training
• horse health
• horse maintenance
• horse behavior
• veterinary care

[spinceara]

interesting

[horzvet]

@spinceara I'm glad you thought so. I have successfully been doing it this way since 1983 and so far, I have 50,000 horses it has worked well on. Most people have not tried palpating the mouth this way because of the perceived danger. Yes I have been cut but I have not been injured. I get to feel exactly what the horse feels with his tongue. I also am able to connect with the horse as there is no worry about a metal speculum in it's mouth. Thanks for commenting, Doc T

[horzvet]

Thanks for commenting. Your thoughts are very fair and correct and I appreciate you taking the time to post it. Doc T

[horzvet]

Thanks Justin for taking the time to comment. I disagree with your fool comment and wonder why you would think so - oops, that makes me a bigger fool. Thanks for wishing me luck. The harder I work, the luckier I get. 43,000 floats on my end says there are either a lot of fools here or I am doing something right. Either way, I have not found a valid reason to change from horsemanship to "auto mechanics" of modern day floating.

[TheSeer101]

@thehorsevet Speculums are training wheels for horse dentists. The day you can use your hand as a speculum like Dr Tucker, is the day you can open your mouth. Real dentists reach all the way to the back molar with their hands and feel. If you cant do that, then stay out of a stall. Your not a horsemen if you can't

[pcc483]

For all of you giving this man grief about his work hush, there is more than one way to do things. The use of a speculum is to safely allow the dentist feel for points and abnormalities in the mouth. It just so happens this man found a different way. I personally use both hand and power floats as well as an speculum but I have not touched the number of horses a this man. When see that many horses you find,develop what works for you. Regardless of how he does it the fact is he is getting results.

[thehorsevet]

@welshrocketman Yeah this guy is talking rubbish, non visual dentistry ( Not using a speculum and not perfroming a detailed oral exam) is considered negligence by Veterinary Boards! Has anyone shown his video to a vet board?

[thehorsevet]

You can't see what your doing ........ Your operating blind ..... POOR procedure and considered NEGLIGENCE by vet boards!

[welshrocketman]

I have done over 40,000 horses mouths.. I know what I`m talking about when I say "you sir, are a fool", if you don`t know why, then you are a bigger fool than I thought...

Good luck with your equine dentistry, your going to need it!

[welshrocketman]

@nyzbii WHY????