07/04/2024
62% of horses over 10 suffer from this disease and many owners don't know about it.
https://vet.tufts.edu/news-events/news/equine-clinical-case-challenge-clinical-signs-eotrh
Raise awareness. If 62% of horses over ten have EOTRH, and this disease has only been diagnosed the last few years, the school masters of the world will be hit heavily. Which means Open riders, Junior Young Riders, and Adult Amateurs will all be effected.
Chopard had 1.5 inches of his total jaw, top and bottom, and all his front teeth, removed because of EOTRH. The tooth root becomes a big ball in their jaw, causing chronic pain. Now his tongue is out any time he is relaxed. According to USEF DR116.2a putting out the tongue is a sign of tension and should be marked in every movement concerned as well as collective marks.
I emailed USDF, asking if an LSU Board Certified surgeon gave me diagnostic letters for my entries, could I get a waiver for shows. I got the "Difficult for a judge to determine if the tongue protrudes due to behavior.... or injury".
Arynn Agan has seen horses in the Intro level on a long rein with small children get low scores because of the effects of this disease. The tongue just hangs out, swinging around with the rhythm of the horse. It's weird, but not doing the surgery is cruel. So pass this around. Awareness creates education, which creates change.
