Aging Horses By Their Teeth – Young Horses (2 – 5 years)

This is a long process if you are going through the whole set. The idea is to notice all the differences and variability seen within each age. As the age becomes greater, notice the increased variability. Also note that in some horses, the left and right sides are different yielding a different age. This is caused by the horse’s tongue movement, jaw movement or both. The image data is the evidence I was given for the age of the horse.

• All incisors are baby teeth (deciduous) indicated by their shape and size.
• The central incisors (also called the 01’s) will become loose, displaced or be absent around 2 ½ years (straight view).
• The upper central incisors usually shed before the lowers. Owners often think the horse has been kicked in the teeth.
• The permanent teeth replacing the lost deciduous teeth are larger.
• Often the erupting deciduous teeth get shoved out of alignment due to tightly held adjacent deciduous teeth.
• Looking for cups and stars is not done with deciduous teeth at this age.
• This is the most predictable age unless there is a malformation.

I call this group between 2 and 5 years the “young horses.”

2 year olds

3 year olds

4 year olds

5 year olds