North American Equine Performance Services
Owner: John Brochu
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
History: “I loved horses as a kid but living in New Jersey I only got to ride once or twice a year. I’d sometimes not wash my hands so I could smell horses when I went to bed. When I became a horseman, my experiences led to a curiosity about dental maintenance. In order to learn the trade, I became an apprentice for six months followed by another apprenticeship with a vet for an additional six months. I started my own business, and when my wife was offered a promotion in 1998 in Arkansas, we moved because I knew I could work anywhere. I immediately got signed in at the racetrack in Sallisaw, Okla. The industry in Arkansas has changed over time so that now only vets can provide equine dental maintenance. Nonetheless, I still pursue the business mostly in Oklahoma and Texas, where I am licensed, although I have traveled around the country and overseas. I work on minis to drafts including racehorses and performance horses such as barrel racers and roping horses. The biggest change in the industry occurred when maintenance changed from a sweat equity process to a motorized one.”
Services: “Horses have interesting teeth that no longer wear down naturally due to selective breeding for other traits. Horses’ teeth need to be filed or floated and balanced once a year with performance horses needing checkups every six months. The process takes an average of 30 to 40 minutes and helps prevent the teeth from scarring their cheeks or piercing their tongues as well as a waning appetite. Many people maintain their grandpa had a great horse and never filed its teeth, however; its true potential was probably never reached due to mouth irritation.”
