Ever wondered the origins of the saying 'long in the tooth' or 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth?' Horses's teeth, unlike humans', continue to grow with age. They also wear down with use, but the changes in the characteristics of the teeth over time make it possible to make an estimate of a horse's age. When the animal reaches old age, the crowns of the teeth are very short and the teeth are often lost altogether. It's the obscure job of equine dentists - known colloquially as 'horse floaters' - to ward off the problems that wear and tear can have on a horse's pearly whites. Using instruments roughened with diamond grit, horse floaters file down equine teeth so that they don't grow into sharp points that can cut the horses' cheeks or throw off their chewing rhythms. But US veterinary oversight boards in Texas and several other states have moved to curb unlicensed floaters, who use specially modified power tools and sedatives without veterinary supervision or authorisation. Carl Mitz has been a horse floater for 25 years. He and three fellow floaters have responded with a suit accusing the board of violating Article 1, Section 19 of the Texas state constitution, which holds that 'no citizen of this state shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities, or in any manner disfranchised, except by the due course of the law of the land.' Regulating teeth floating, they say, deprives them of their right to earn an honest living, which is what they believe this clause explicitly protects...read more
I'm gonna start a new group - The Freedom For Floaters Foundation.
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