bone spurs

Question
QUESTION: hello ma'am, i just now browsed in internet about horse mouth bone spurs. what are they? what are the problems horse face with bone spurs? how can i fix this problem?

ANSWER: Rohit,

Bone spurs are bony growths caused by the painful pressure of the bit on the horse's bars (of the mouth).
The bars are covered only by a very thin layer of tissue. A bit can exert (with a curb) up to 70 PSI on the bars of the mouth.

Controlling a horse only through pain is an unfortunate reality with most training.

It is estimated by studies done that up to 75 per cent of all horses ridden with bits for a period of time suffer from bone spurs.

The only real answer to a horse reacting to painful bone spurs is to change to a Bitless bridle. These are slowly being allowed more and more in the horse world, thoughit is a slow process.Then the tissue in the area of the mouth that is being harmed can lie dormant and no longer have pain.

Surgical removal of the bone spur is probably not a realistic solution to the problem. Ihe spurs would only occur again, and that area of the mouth would be even more sensitive.

MitziSummers
www.MitziSummers.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: ma'am, with your answer, i got a new idea. i believe that thoroughbred racehorses that have sensitive mouths are really suffering from bone spurs rather than being soft jawed. for this reason, trainers are using either rubber or happy mouth snaffles to protect the horse bars and declaring that horse is soft jawed. am i correct?

Answer
Rohit,

I do not know if that is the reason the trainers change the bits, i.e. that they recognize that the horses may have bone spurs. They may just be experimenting until they find a bit that the horses can tolerate.

For a really thorough discussion of bone spurs, go to the Dr.Cook Bitless Bridle website. There you will find quite a bit of information about bits, bone spurs, etc.

Some equine venues are actually allowing race horses to wear Bitless Bridles while racing.



MItzi