For years horse owners have made do when caring for their animals' teeth. But a new profession is emerging and formally trained horse dentists are graduating for the first time. Ian Lamming gets the full story.

AS RUTH Parker nursed her broken nose and two black eyes she wondered whether she had chosen the right profession after all. Being one of the first formally trained horse dentists in the country and the only full-time female practitioner in the north of England had seemed a good idea until the pony she was treating reared and kicked her right between the eyes.

"I looked such a mess," recalls the 23-year-old, of Darlington. "My nose was massive and I had two black eyes. It was so painful and I was starting to think, maybe, that it was no job for a woman.

"But a man had once told me that it wasn't women's work - and I was out to prove him wrong. Also, several people rang me saying their horses preferred to be handled by a woman so I decided to keep at it."

Now, despite the blow to the face, several broken knuckles and a crushed ankle, she perseveres with the job of her dreams and developing her fledgling business.

Ruth had always wanted to work with horses since she first threw her leg over the back of a Shetland pony when she was just three.

But she failed to achieve the required A Levels to become a vet and graduated in accountancy instead.

"It was my boyfriend, Andrew Scaife, who came up with the idea," she says. "He was shoeing at a racing yard and watched a man rasping the horses' teeth. He wasn't handling them at all well and we thought this could be a gap in the market."

Ruth immediately started her research. She discovered there was no legal requirement and no formal training when it came to looking after horses' teeth. The work was carried out by ex-jockeys, farriers and vets. But even vets' knowledge was limited - three hours in a five-year training programme.

"In the past the only courses were in America and they cost $8,000 for a month-long course," she says. "In the past ten years things have really moved on and this country needs to keep up with the times."

She finally heard about a new course being run by the Equine Dental College, at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. For the first time in this country, it offers a six day residential course in horse dentistry, giving up to 12 students a time intensive formal tuition.

For three days the students receive classroom-based theory with up to four different lecturers. This is followed by three days of practical work, carried out by six tutors, giving a ratio of two students to one teacher. Training weekends are also part of the course.

Garry Draper, who founded the college, says until recently people had to rely on the American courses which were expensive and also used certain techniques not approved in Britain.

"The ways the laws are here, you don't need qualifications or even insurance," he says. "Everyone who comes through the college is encouraged to take out insurance, to safeguard themselves and the horse owner. Horses are part of the family and by promoting good work ethics, dentistry and handling techniques we can make horses' lives better. It's something owners are becoming aware of. The days of going out with a rasp and a rusty bucket are gone."

The college has trained 26 students so far, 11 from the continent where there is also a dearth of such courses. That leaves just 15 formally trained horse dentists for the whole of the UK, though there are practitioners who have taken the British Equine Veterinary Association's one day course and others relying on "experience".

Horses' teeth are three and a half inches long when they are born. Problems arise because of modern day living. Their teeth grow three millimetres a year and in the wild, the animals would regulate them by chewing on something hard. Today most horses are fed easy-to-chew concentrates which often leads to hooks and sharp edges forming on their teeth. If these aren't removed with manual rasps or an electric version called a dremmel, it can endanger the animal's life.

"One client was thinking about having her Shetland put down," says Ruth. "It hadn't eaten for four days, it was very weak and the poor thing was skin and bone. When I had a look, it had a huge tooth hanging out. I got the vet to sedate it and it took me 20 minutes to get it out. It was 26 and due to be shot. Three days later it was eating its feed as normal - that made my day."

Another of her clients had a horse which was branded unridable by the vet. "She was told it could not be ridden because of its mouth," she recalls. "I had a look in and the poor thing had hooks two centimetres long digging into its gums. I rasped them off and now it can be ridden on the bit. That was really rewarding too."

Ruth is fast building a reputation for her skill and enthusiasm, with calls for her services not just from this country but also from Spain and Tunisia. She is also one of just 20 people in the country invited to become probationary members of the Worldwide Association of Equine Dentists.

"I'm loving it," she says. "I'm my own boss, I can take my dog Lilly with me everywhere and working with horses is what I've always wanted to do.

"I hope to become one of the best female dentists there is and I will continue with my training. I want to work with the yards and the vets, and in time build up a really good reputation for what I do.