maintenance work, like removing “wolf teeth," premolars that often

maintenance work, like removing “wolf teeth," premolars that often interfere with placement of the bit, or “floating” teeth to file down sharp hooks and edges. “A horse’s teeth keep growing all its life, like a rodent’s,” Pankow explained. “Every horse needs regular dental care. Most commonly, a horse will lose a molar in the back of the mouth, leaving the opposing tooth on the other jaw to continue to grow. You don’t remove the other healthy tooth because it serves to lock in the dental arcade and holds the other teeth in place. If there is no tooth in opposition, the remaining tooth ‘super-erupts,’ growing faster than the others, and has to be kept filed down.”