ShareThisBy SHIRLEY DOWNING
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Bo occasionally grunted, but showed no other sign of pain as a doctor ran a file over his front teeth using a 2-foot-long drill.
The Tennessee walking horse rested his head in a triangular-shaped sling, his eyes drooping and his jaws held open by a full-mouth speculum. He'd been sedated, but remained standing.
At 28, Bo's health needs primarily involve comfort, veterinarian Stephen Galloway said.
Galloway, 43, is a former Army paratrooper turned country veterinarian. He is seen around Fayette County in a white pickup pulling a trailer filled with drills, an X-ray unit and other tools of his trade.
Mostly, Galloway makes stall calls, visiting large animals on the farm and providing specialized dental care.
He said he is one of the few veterinarians in Tennessee with equine dentistry as a primary job focus.
Equine life expectancy has risen in recent years as veterinarians emphasize the importance of dental care and other health issues, he said.
Horses are "very stoic," he said, and often by the time an owner notices the animal is sick, the problem is well advanced.
A toothache in a horse? "You don't know," he said.
"A large number of horses that are put down because they are skinny really have dental issues," he said.
"This guy cannot chew hay anymore, but he can live (eating a special commercial diet) until his organs shut down," said Galloway as he worked on Bo's large, stained and well-worn teeth.
A graduate of Memphis University School and West Point, Galloway looked for a safer vocation after an Army tour and the first Persian Gulf War.
"It was a family decision," he said.
In 1991, he went to veterinary school at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He graduated in 1996.
He and his wife, Melanie, also a veterinarian, settled in West Texas where "there was a lot of wind and prairie" but decided to return to West Tennessee after 4 1/2 years.
"I loved West Texas, but there's not much to do out there if you are not a farmer. It is mostly an outdoors lifestyle."
Galloway gravitated toward the field of dental care for larger farm animals. He can fill teeth, pull them or even do a root canal, under certain conditions.
About 50 percent of his time is horse dental work and 25 percent is small animal dental work and 25 percent is doing other veterinary tasks.
