The horses mouth is made up of different types of teeth, all perfectly formed for their specific purposes.

All teeth are made up of enamel – a hard but brittle structure;  cementum – produced continuously at the base of the tooth enabling the tooth to attach to the periodontal ligament; dentine – this is produced continuously and is a soft structure supporting nutrients for growth

Incisors
Horses have 6 on their top jaw and 6 on their bottom jaw.  All of these are deciduous (baby teeth), and are lost when the permanent teeth come in.  Generally horses lose their 1st incisors at 2.5 years, their middle incisors at 3.5 years and their corner incisors at 4.5 years.  These are used primarily in a pincer action to tear off grass or pick up food.  They begin their life oval in shape but as the horse ages become more triangular.  The incisors are used as a good indicator when aging horses.  The combination of wear patterns and the shape of the tooth enable a skilled eye to work out the age of horses.

Canines and Wolf Teeth

Canine and Wolf teeth are remnants of the evolutionary process.  Canine teeth were thought to have been used then the horse was a much smaller creature, living in woodland eating different structures.  They were also thought to have been used if / when defending themselves.  They are not usually seen in mares although some are known to throw rogue canines.  Geldings can show up to 4 canines, one in each quadrant of the mouth.  Wolf teeth used to be premolars but over the years of evolution they have become vestigial teeth (whose roots have not fully formed), giving them no purpose at all.  Mares and Geldings can show between 1 and 4 wolf teeth and can appear from 6 months of age.

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Premolar and Molar Teeth

These teeth have a very substantial root, the maxillary molars (uppers) have 3 roots and the mandibular (lower) have 2 roots.  The maxillary check teeth are wider and squarer than the mandibular teeth which are longer and thinner in shape.  They are the teeth used to masticate (grind) the hard structures eaten by horses.  They have a thick enamel outer which folds in around the edge of the tooth which, with the support of the inner dentine, provides a structurally strong grinding surface.