Evaluation of the effects of performance dentistry on equine rideability: a randomized, blinded, controlled trial
Authors: Sébastien Moine, S. A. Flammer, Päivi de Jesus Maia-Nussbaumer, M. K. Klopfenstein Bregger, V. Gerber
Journal: Veterinary Quarterly
Summary
# Editorial Summary Whilst dental malocclusion is frequently cited as a contributor to rideability problems in performance horses, rigorous evidence supporting this assertion remains sparse. Moine and colleagues conducted a randomised, blinded, controlled trial on 38 Franches-Montagnes stallions, assigning each horse a dental malocclusion score before randomly allocating them to either sham treatment or performance dentistry involving occlusal equilibration; a professional dressage rider then scored rideability on a 27-point scale across five ridden sessions (two pre-treatment, three post-treatment) whilst blinded to treatment allocation. Neither baseline dental scores nor dental treatment produced statistically significant changes in rideability assessment (no correlation between malocclusion and rideability at baseline; P = 0.73), and no differences emerged between treatment groups over time (P = 0.93). These findings challenge the widespread assumption that performance dentistry reliably improves rideability, though the authors appropriately acknowledge that subjective rider scoring and the relatively short observation window may have masked genuine effects that longer-term, more objective measurement protocols could detect. For practitioners, this suggests that whilst addressing significant dental pathology remains important for welfare and mastication, claims that occlusal equilibration will enhance rideability warrant healthy scepticism pending more robust evidence—and that apparent improvements following dental work may reflect placebo effects or concurrent interventions rather than the dental treatment itself.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Performance dentistry (occlusal equilibration) did not objectively improve rideability in this controlled trial, questioning whether routine 'performance' dental work translates to measurable riding improvements
- •Dental malocclusion alone was not associated with poor rideability scores in these horses, suggesting other factors may be more significant contributors to performance issues
- •Consider that rider perception and subjective assessment methods may not capture true benefits of dental work; more objective measurement tools are needed to clarify the actual impact
Key Findings
- •No correlation found between pre-treatment dental malocclusion score and rideability score (rs = 0.06, P = 0.73)
- •Performance dentistry with occlusal equilibration did not significantly improve rideability scores compared to sham treatment (P = 0.93)
- •No interaction effect between treatment group and time on rideability scores (P = 0.83)
- •Study unable to demonstrate that performance dentistry improves equine rideability despite common anecdotal beliefs