The words “broken jaw” summon images of gruesome injuries, uncomfortable treatments and long, uncertain recovery periods. And, when it comes to people, that often isn’t too far off. But for horses, jaw fractures are not necessarily debilitating injuries. In fact, most broken equine jaws are relatively easy to treat, with minimal pain and a good prognosis.
This fortunate fact is illustrated by the tale of two jaw fractures that happened to occur, just weeks apart, at A and O Stables in McCoy, Virginia, last year. The farm is owned by Ashley Roberts, DVM, an associate veterinarian at Appalachian Veterinary Services in nearby Riner, Virginia. The horses, their injuries and the treatments they required were about as different as could be, but the end result in both cases was a full…
