Ray Long

Ray has been interested and involved with horses since his childhood. He was raised on a cattle ranch in Pierre, South Dakota where he was exposed to many aspects of equine health care and most importantly to him, Equine Dentistry. As a teenager he began riding race horses. He started as an exercise rider and at the age of 16 he got his jockey license. He rode in races at the local racetracks and other tracks in the mid-west. After graduating high school he attended Black Hills State College for 2 and a half years, majoring in Industrial Arts. Realizing that his passion and love was horses he returned to the ranch and racetrack. Ray has started young horses, worked on the starting gate, and even race and trained a few of his own thoroughbreds.

One day he saw a friend performing Equine Dentistry. It was immediately obvious to him that this was an area of equine health that was in definite need of new interests, techniques, and equipment. He became very interested in the bio mechanics of the equine cranium, including but not limited to the oral cavity, teeth, and the temporal mandibular joint (TMJ) and its impact on equine health and performance. It was all about the horse!

While working at several racetracks in the Midwest as a layperson performing Equine Dentistry he became proficient at not only routine Equine Dentistry, but he developed new techniques and methods for correcting malocclusion’s within the equine oral cavity. He also began to experiment and remodel existing dentistry equipment. Ray has created new dentistry tools and equipment which he has three patents that are currently on the market being used world wide today. He continues to formulate new tool and equipment design ideas that will help create better methods and techniques to further advance Equine Dentistry. He has also helped formulate many educational equine dentistry wet-labs and three equine dental supply companies.

Ray currently lives in Phoenix, AZ and has been an Equine Dentist for 24 years. He works exclusively with many local Veterinarians as well as out of the state Veterinarians. He confidently works on all breeds of horses at all levels. He is a Certified Veterinary Technician in Arizona, a Licensed Veterinary Technician in Nevada, and a Licensed Veterinary Technician in Washington. ray also teaches Equine Dentistry. He is very passionate about sharing information involving new technology regarding tools and equipment, as well as new methods and techniques with his students, clients, Veterinarians, and his colleagues.

Ray has been instrumental in helping to bring Equine Dentistry to a level that has never before been seen. He is dedicated to finding new information to enhance his own knowledge in developing new and better ways to help further advance Equine Dentistry for the overall benefit of the horse.