Bill would allow laypeople to file horse teeth

A woman sued because she files horse teeth for a living could get relief from the Statehouse instead of the courthouse.

A state representative filed a bill last week that would change state law regarding veterinary medicine.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Loehner, R-Koeltztown, introduced HB554. The measure provides that animal husbandry practices, those dealing with the care, appearance and hygiene of animals, are distinct from the legal definition of veterinary medicine.

The bill follows a lawsuit by the state Veterinary Medical Board against Brooke Gray, a northwest Missouri woman who files down sharp points on horse teeth, a technique known as floating, for a living. The board alleges she is practicing veterinary medicine without a license. That case is pending in Clinton County Circuit Court.

Loehner’s bill would provide that state veterinary medicine laws don’t prohibit husbandry practices and identifies several in particular, among them teeth floating, tail docking, horseshoeing, grooming and artificial insemination.