Editing Horse teeth (section)

==Tooth eruption==
[[File:Napping Colt.JPG|thumb|"Milk teeth" of a [[foal]] are short and oval-shaped]]
[[Image:Horse teeth.jpg|thumb|[[Incisors]] of a younger horse]]
Horses are [[diphyodont]]ous, erupting a set of first [[deciduous teeth]] (also known as milk, temporary, or baby teeth) soon after birth, with these being replaced by [[permanent teeth]] by the age of approximately five years old.  The horse will normally have 24 deciduous teeth, emerging in pairs, and eventually pushed out by the permanent teeth, which normally number between 36 and 40.  As the deciduous teeth are pushed up, they are termed "caps".  Caps will eventually shed on their own, but may cause discomfort when still loose, requiring extraction.

It is possible to estimate the age of a young horse by observing the pattern of teeth in the mouth, based on which teeth have erupted, although the difference between breeds and individuals make precise dating impossible.

{|class="wikitable"
|+Common ages for tooth eruption.<ref name="UPence2002" /><ref name=Cirelli/>
!Type of tooth!!Number!!Deciduous!!Permanent
|-
|Incisor||First (central)||birth to 8 days||2.5 yrs
|-
|Incisor||Second (intermediate)||4.5–6 weeks||3.5–4 yrs
|-
|Incisor||Third (corner)||6–9 months||4.5–5 yrs
|-
|Canine|| ||Absent||3.5–5 yrs, some around 6 yrs (if ever)
|-
|Premolar||First (wolf)||Absent||6 months to 3 years (if ever)
|-
|Premolar||Second ||birth to 2 weeks||2–3 yrs
|-
|Premolar||Third ||birth to 2 weeks||2.5–3 yrs
|-
|Premolar||Fourth ||birth to 2 weeks||3–4 yrs
|-
|Molar||First||Absent||9–12 months
|-
|Molar||Second ||Absent||2 yrs
|-
|Molar||Third ||Absent||3–4 yrs
|}

All teeth are normally erupted by the age of five, at which point the horse is said to have a "full mouth", but the actual age this occurs will depend on the individual horse, and also by breed, with certain breeds having different average eruption times.  For instance, in [[Shetland pony|Shetland ponies]] the middle and corner incisor tend to erupt late, and in both [[draft horse]]s and [[miniature horse]]s, the permanent middle and corner incisors are usually late appearing.<gallery mode="packed" heights="130" perrow="3" caption="Horse dentition over time">
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 1 - The Foal. p116 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif|Foal
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 2 - Yearling . p116 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif|Yearling
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 3 - Two years. p116 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Two years
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 4 - Three years. p117 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Three years
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 5 - Five years. p117 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Five years
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 6 -Six years. p117 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Six years
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 7 - Seven years. p118 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Seven years
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 8 - Nine years. p118 . Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Nine years
File:Horse Teeth - Fig 9- Twelve years. p118. Brett's Colonists' Guide 1883.tif (2).tif|Twelve years
</gallery>