Equine dental technician Nikki Hatton says "Oh you've just missed the gory bit," having removed a large horse tooth. I can feel my knees weaken but put on a brave face.

Nikki has no such concerns and within minutes has her hand, her whole arm even, in the depths of a different horse's mouth. "Your hands are your eyes in this job," she says, "because no torch can get right to the back teeth, so you have to use your hands to feel around and find out what's there."

Thankfully for the horse, and for Nikki, it is sedated and looks ready for sleep. Nikki has to use a full mouth speculum - an instrument that resembles a mean looking bridle - which keeps the mouth open whilst she inserts her hand and uses a rasping instrument, to smooth over the teeth. The whole process is akin to sandpapering the teeth down.

Looking at the size of the dental instruments and the size of the horse's mouth it's easy to conclude that this is not a job for the faint hearted. "You have to love horses to do this job. Absolutely," says Nikki.

"Horses' teeth are incredibly important," she says. "If an owner neglects the teeth, all kinds of problems may result, including weight loss because the horses are unable to grind efficiently. At the age of three most horses are broken in, and as soon as a bit is put in the mouth, it changes completely. Horses need a dental check up every six months.

"It's not only the bit the makes a difference but what height the horse eats their food at. In the wild they eat from the floor and their jaws are made accordingly - eating from a height affects the slant of the jaw. Owners should keep the food as close to the floor as possible so the horse is eating in its natural position."

You can also tell so much about dental problems from the outside. Nikki feels the horse's face to check if the muscles are bigger on one side of the head. If they are this indicates an imbalance when grinding the food, probably because one side is painful.

Nikki was trained in the USA, in an equine dental college in Idaho, where she accumulated 300 hours of experience. She is still in the final stages of attaining her British qualification and set up her own business 'Equismile' in January this year. She lives in Hedge End and has three

horses.

A huge boost in her customers came through the British equivalent of the real-life 'Horse Whisperer' Kelly Marks, because Kelly recommends Nikki on her website. But isn't this a very unusual profession for a woman to choose?

"Some horses respond better to men, some to women but there are few female equine dental technicians. It is a rollercoaster of emotions, this job, and such a struggle as a woman because no one in Britain really wants to train you.

"Also you might see horses that have been treated badly and this is hard to deal with. I am such a softie that I always want to take them home.

"My life is horses, horses, horses it's all I've ever known really. Oh, and my dog, Sketchpad, of course - he's my best friend. So, yeah, it's just me and my Sketchpad - and the open road."