Straight from the horse's mouth

WE'RE at the stables, where Maggie is having the equine equivalent of a floss 'n' polish.

She's been led from happily tugging on a pile of straw and now has her jaw in a mighty metal brace so Greg can have a safe peek at her molars.

Not that Maggie seems to mind.

She seems miles away, her eyes blinking every now and then, with her ears slowly twirling around as if trying to receive Radio Moscow.

"How old is she?," I ask from a safe distance, having been hoofed by horses more times than I care to recall.

Greg narrows his eyes and peers into the black abyss of Maggie's throat.

"I'd say about eight or nine," he replies, pulling some of that chewed straw out from under her tongue.

Greg Wood is one of only 150 men and women in this country to devote themselves to the welfare of our horses' gnashers.

As he takes a few rough edges off Maggie's chewers he explains how his upper body, shoulders and back have filled out due to the physical labour involved with his job of six years.

This is hardly surprising as Greg sees up to eight horses a day.

Most of the time he'll go in, check for the general health of the mouth, then file down teeth both for comfort and so the bridle bit sits well.

While there are a whole range of procedures he can carry out alone, anything which involves putting a horse under anaesthetic requires the attendance of a vet too.

And, when the going gets serious, out come the power tools (yes, really).

Even his specialist equipment for a routine examination looks huge.

"I use a lot of power tools. They're like what a dentist uses on humans but bigger versions. Though if you have any procedure where you're going to use them the horse will be sedated.

"For routine maintenance 80 per cent of horses will stand there and let you do the work - 20 per cent won't let you near them and stand on their back legs and chuck a front leg out to try to get you.

"Twenty per cent nearly fall asleep when you do it and the rest don't enjoy it, but put up with it."

Just like humans, Greg advises owners to have their horse's teeth checked every six to eight months if they're being ridden - or every year if the hairy client is retired or a brood mare.

"To a lot of people one horse's mouth is very much the same as another. But some have more flesh which means they might react badly to a bit as their mouths can get nipped and squeezed.

"I'm learning all the time."

As there's a healthy number of established equine dentists in the country, some vets are now easing back on working on the specialism.

One of the reasons for this could be the cost of the equipment which, when added to Greg's tuition fees, makes an eyebrow-raising total of £46,000 outlay on his part in order to enter the profession.

Even now one of his major business overheads are the blades on his instruments, which he replaces every fortnight or so.

Greg grew up between Durham and Sunderland, learning to ride when he was a youngster.

He had his future career mapped out from an early age, joining the Army straight from school in 1982.

On completion of his basic training he became an instructor with the Household Cavalry, a position he held for 13 years.

"My purpose for joining the Army was to ride horses. I left school on the Friday and was in the army by the next Tuesday.

"The majority of the people I was teaching to ride had never sat on a horse before which was sometimes a better thing.

"Guys in the cavalry don't have to be expert horsemen, they just have to walk down The Mall."

Horses in the Household Cavalry are named after battle honours and hunts.

When the IRA bombed Hyde Park in 1982 four members of the distinguished regiment and seven horses were slain.

A decade later the names of the horses killed and injured in the atrocity began to be reintroduced with another generation of horses named Sefton and Waterford.

During his time with the Household Cavalry, Greg would break in up to 50 horses a year.

It is special to him that the last horse he trained before leaving was the young Waterford.

The Household Cavalry has their stables in Knightsbridge, overlooking Hyde Park, in a modern multi-storey building which resembles a car park.

Theirs is a gruelling life, especially for the horsemen.

The rehearsals for meticulously-executed state occasions always take place in the early hours when London is having a brief respite before the next day begins.

For the cavalry this means being at the stables by 3am, on the road by 5am and back for tea and polo mints by 8am.

"I did about 12 Trooping the Colours and Prince Andrew's wedding.

"I loved it and would recommend it to anyone."

Greg fell into equine dentistry completely by accident after idly chatting to someone already in the profession.

A horse's movement and gait is completely different depending on whether it's cantering freely or under the control of a rider using a bridle.

"Looking in a horse's mouth you can see how it would affect a horse's performance. That's how I got interested in it."

In order to learn his new trade Greg had to travel all the way to Idaho, in America where the world-renowned Academy of Equine Dentistry is based.

There, over three intensive two-week visits, attended by students from the likes of racing, dressage and rodeo, he spent mornings in the classroom soaking up vast amounts of information, then afternoons putting what he'd learnt into practice with horses.

Here Greg's Army experience stood him in good stead.

"We were breaking in a lot of horses every year so got used to handling different types and temperaments.

"You're at a bit more of an advantage if you've been around horses a lot."

At the end of the course he had to pass a certification exam, then sat further exams in this country to gain accreditation from the British Equine Veterinary Association and become a member of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians.

Now Greg's company GW Equine Dental Services is well established in Hampshire and Berkshire, and he is building his business all the time.

But how does he spread the word of his services?

"By word of mouth, of course," he says, grinning.

For appointments contact G.W. Equine Dental Services on 023 8069 2671