Dental wear in horses in relation to the microhardness of enamel and dentine.

The study used the microhardness test to gauge the hardness of the dental tissues (enamel, primary and secondary dentine) in three horse breeds: Trotters, Belgian draft horses, and Arab horses. It found that enamel and secondary dentine were significantly harder in Arab horses as compared to the other two breeds.

Understanding the Research

• The research was conducted on the incisor teeth of 39 horses belonging to three distinct breeds – trotters, Belgian draft horses, and Arab horses.
• The main tool used to conduct the research was a microhardness tester equipped with a Knoop diamond indenter. This tester helped to determine the Knoop Hardness Number (KHN), a standard unit of microhardness of each tissue tested.

Results of the Research

The study recorded important findings, including:

• Enamel and secondary dentine were significantly harder in Arab horses than in trotters and Belgian draft horses. This could suggest that Arab horses have a higher quality of dental health, but further studies and factors need to be considered.
• No significant difference was noted between trotter horses and Belgian draft horses in the hardness of their enamel and dentine.

Interpretation of Results

Further, these results may be interpreted in the following ways:

• The differences could be attributed to genetic factors exclusive to Arab horses, which make their enamel and secondary dentine harder than those of trotter and Belgian draft horses.
• Beyond genetics, it could also be possible that external factors such as diet and environment have contributed to the differences in dental hardness amongst the breeds.
• The lack of significant differences between the Belgian drafts and trotters might suggest similar environmental, feeding, and genetic conditions.

These results provide an important base for further studies on horse dental health and could have potential implications on horse breeding, diet, and health management programs.