About Spencer  


Spencer LaFlure grew up on his family's two dude ranches in New York State where they ran several hundred head of horses on an open range.  Growing up around horses, he always wondered why middle-aged horses started losing their top line, meaning they developed a sway back later in life. This curiosity led him to attend equine dental school in Idaho.  At that school, he learned traditional equine dentistry (which is not what he uses today).  He noticed that horses' jaws still seemed to be out of balance even after having traditional dentistry work done. Hundreds of horses skulls were available to him at this school and he began intense study of them.


While at Dental School, LaFlure learned many things but primarily that power tools take off too much of the tooth--too fast--and provide poor dentistry.  This led him to perform his own research and develop the techniques that he uses today and the skills he teaches his students from around the world.  Natural Balance Dentistry focuses on equilibrating the front teeth first according to each individual horses bars of the mouth and then going on to balance the back teeth to restore the centric relationship of the TMJ.  The focus is on reestablishing anatomically correct bite planes and neurological function of the horses jaw. Trying to model the teeth for eating is not correct.  Horse teeth are actually calicified nerve endings that are connected to all parts of the horse and directly affects the horse's posture and stature and should be balanced accordingly.  By addressing the angle of the incisors first, profound changes will occur throughout the body, especially in the muscling along the top line and the stomatognathic system (mouth, jaws and related structures).  A balanced mouth is a lot more than just eating--its neurologically of far greater importance than most people know.  For more information on Advanced Whole Horse Dentistry, click here.



So what does all of this mean to the horse owner?


Spencer's work is a major breakthrough in the theories that effect the overall health, wellness and the performance of your horse regardless of your discipline.  Power tools are doing an incredible amount of damage to a horses teeth.  They are clumsy and often take off too much of the tooth.  This will directly affect the proper movement of your horse in his fore and hind quarters. Many traditional equine dentists strive to take off the "points" when in fact this impacts the horses ability to properly chew and digest his food.  


When a horse's mouth is not properly balanced, he will not move properly. Additionally, improper balance over time shows up in muscular confirmation and movement of the horse.  A properly balanced mouth need not be treated annually. A horse's teeth grow continuously until about the age of 20. Therefore we do not generally recommend balancing horses over 20 years old because their teeth are no longer growing and they don't need it!  It can hurt them more than help them.


Advanced Whole Horse Dentistry School

Founded by Spencer LaFlure

Specially designed by Spencer LaFlure, our tools are more gentle on the horse.  They feature one-way only blades.  This ensures that your horses teeth are not filed in a back and forth motion, which can be more damaging.  A one-way filing motion is more precise and a deliberate method of shaping each tooth as necessary and balancing the mouth correctly.

For More Information 

518-209-1180

natural balance equine dental specialist