Maple Meadow Farm Festival features equine demonstration

MAPLETON, Maine – Equine dentistry has become a more common practice in the last 10 years.    Good dental practices improve the quality of a horse’s life and performance. Many large animal veterinarians provide routine examination of horses’ teeth to assess mouth pathology, but many are now working alongside equine dentists to provide overall health services to horses and their owners.
Steve Akeley, EqDT of Damariscotta, formerly of Mapleton and owner of Akeley’s Equine Dental Services, LLC, will be demonstrating large animal dentistry techniques at the Maple Meadow Farm Festival Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28. This will be Akeley’s second year as a participant at the festival and his first year discussing and demonstrating equine dentistry. He attended the American School of Equine Dentistry in Purceville, Va., and has operated his dental practice for three years.
Akeley will be giving demonstrations throughout the festival on how to care for, and the importance of caring for your horses’ teeth, as well as signs that may indicate pathologies of the mouth. As a horse owner himself, Akeley enjoys showing other horse owners how to recognize symptoms that may point to discomforts in the mouth.
“Maintaining a horse’s teeth not only makes the horse more comfortable, but improves digestion,” he said. “Better digestion equal better health and performance.”
The Maple Meadow Farm Festival features the best of the past while educating folks about the history and traditions of a rural culture. In addition to the many demonstrations, there are wagon rides, antique appraisals, horse farming techniques, and fine crafts and cuisine throughout the two-day family festival at 830 Mapleton Road in Mapleton.
For more on Akeley’s demonstration and others, contact Miriam Gregg at 764-6450 or log onto www.maplemeadowfarms.com.