ABSTRACTHorse owners and veterinary surgeons have become aware of the necessity of performing regulardental check-ups in the horse. This has led to the understanding that the prevalence of dental pathologycan be very high. In the last decade, equine dentistry has undergone an enormous progress due toadvances in scientific knowledge, diagnosis and options of treatment. This first article in a series ofpapers on modern equine dentistry starts from the normal anatomy of the equine dentition to describethe diverse clinical aspects of dental abnormalities.