An extreme measure

My mind spun: Can you even do that? How will Loopy eat? How will he graze? How will he defend himself in a herd? I couldn’t wrap my head around a horse this young with no front teeth. But I was assured that horses who have undergone this procedure adapt quickly and soon learn to pick up their feed and even crop grass with their lips, tongue and gums. In the end, he’d be no worse off than horses with healthy, intact front teeth.

Fortunately, I had a little bit of time to think. This disease advances slowly. It was not like I had to rush Loopy off for emergency surgery that afternoon.

Because Loopy is a nervous horse and very attached to his pasturemates, I initially thought it would be best to have his teeth extracted right on our farm. But that would require a veterinarian with a portable x-ray machine powerful enough to get films of the head. The veterinarian would also need to be skilled