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Vikki Fowler - Veterinary Equine Dental Technician

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Vikki Fowler - Veterinary Equine Dental Technician

Equine veterinary dentistry service Qualified equine vet and qualified equine dental technician working solely in the field of dentistry.

Based in South Lancashire, UK

17/09/2026

🔬 For everyone who asked to see the research in more detail, the full pre-publication paper is now available to read on Animalweb.❗

The preliminary study by Dr David Marlin, Russell MacKechnie-Guire, Graham Cross and Rachel Murray investigated the complex forces acting through the curb rein, cheekpiece and curb chain when a horse was ridden in a double bridle. 🐴

The full paper includes:
📊 Detailed tension measurements
📡 The sensor and data-collection setup
🖼️ Illustrations of how forces act through the bridle
⚙️ Estimates of the forces transmitted inside the horse’s mouth
🔎 A full discussion of the findings and limitations

If you wanted to explore the methods, mechanics and results behind the research, you can now read the complete paper here:

👉 https://askanimalweb.com/a-preliminary-investigation-quantifying-curb-rein-curb-cheekpiece-and-curb-chain-tensions-in-a-horse-ridden-in-a-double-bridle-with-estimates-for-intra-oral-forces/

David J. Marlin, Russell MacKechnie-Guire, Graham H. Cross, Rachel Murray (2026). A preliminary investigation quantifying curb rein, curb cheekpiece and curb chain tensions in a horse ridden in a double bridle with estimates for intra-oral forces. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology.

17/09/2026

I love all the research being done recently, into bitless, bitted, snaffles vs doubles etc. Well worth following Russell! The more we know, the better we can do. And sometimes the results are surprising.

16/09/2026

I've posted before about how I don't believe all horse's incisors should look perfectly straight like they have veneers. I strongly believe we need to have a very good reason before taking away any tooth material.

Cause, aim and plan. Always. We need to identify the cause, have an aim in mind and a come up with a treatment plan.

This lady has a wry nose, this is when the nose isn't perfectly straight. This always leads to a slant to the incisors. Thing is, that slant is functional. The horse needs it and it will reform no matter what you do. So trying to make her teeth perfectly straight is not just pointless, it's harmful. I would be taking away useful tooth material for no reason and shorten the life of those teeth.

So we have the cause, the wry nose. What was my aim? To have these incisors fully functional. Meaning they need to freely move side to side. She had little overhangs that had formed either side and these were stopping the sideways movement. So my treatment plan was to remove these overhangs, not to straighten the teeth. Indeed I didn't touch the teeth beyond the excess tooth material on the outer edges. She still has a slight slant although it looks less dramatic without the overhangs, but that slant will stay, I have no intention of trying to make them perfect. Despite the bit of a slant I left her with, her alignment is much improved, by which I mean the central teeth top and bottom are closer together at rest. I hadn't touched her back teeth at this point, the improvement was solely due to removing the overhangs.

The photo of her head is at the end of her dental treatment, so as straight as she could and will ever be. Wry nose can occur congenitally, or as a result of trauma to one side of the face that stunts its growth while the other side grows as normal. This little lass is a resident at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary and we aren't sure which is the case for her. Although her 109 is malformed which could point more towards trauma as a foal. She is very lucky to have found herself at a place that will keep on top of her dental care and based on her back teeth, she has clearly had good dental care in the past although due a visit.

Interesting case! I do love the weird and wonderful 😁

Remember, routine dental work is basic horse care for every single equine, not a luxury.

30/08/2026

This is a 15 year old mare that a client inherited from her father. She's never had her teeth done. She has lived semi-feral, on moorland all her life and she has decent teeth. No major abnormalities. And yet she has ended up in this state.

Every horse, every year needs a routine dental. Keeping a horse "naturally" will not avoid this necessity. Humans have interfered with horses too much for too many centuries, indeed millennia, for them to be able to live wild. Nature is not rainbows and roses, it's cruel, our domesticated horses would suffer and die a painful early death in the wild. We have a responsibility to care for those we own.

Routine dentistry is basic care, not a luxury.

27/08/2026

Big hooks on a very little pony! This chap is 27 years old, and has never had his teeth done. Apart from the very large hooks at the front and back, I was surprised to find his teeth in pretty decent condition. With the hooks being very tall but very narrow, I managed full reduction pretty easily. My favourite new toy, the Equilight microdisc made the 11 hooks a doddle 😁

I'm having a disagreement with my camera flash of late so please excuse the poor lighting in the photos. Trying to get photos in such a tiny mouth is tricky as it is 😅

I'll have to wait for the overworn areas to grow back for it to look perfect but I'm very pleased with how much of the hooks I could safely take and he'll be a lot more comfortable now.

Remember, routine dentistry is basic care, not a luxury!

21/08/2026

The (grown up) babies watching mum being done before taking their turn. I'm use to humans looking over my shoulder but these two were hilarious! They behaved impeccably when their turn came 🥰

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