Choke...again!!!!

[SmartieBean09]

Jamin is only getting a token gesture of chaff so that she gets her hayfever supp and vit/mins. She has suffered from choke previously and she has her teeth checked regularly. Her teeth are pretty warn but she manages just fine. I bought a bag of HI FI the other day as she no longer needs her conditioning fibre (and to be honest, I cant really afford to keep feeding it). Everything has been fine until today......when she choked....again!!! It wasnt as bad as the last 2 times and she managed to clear her throat herself with a big cough.

What would you do? To be honest I probably wouldnt feed her, if it wasnt for her supplements.

What would be a good replacement for HI FI (which I noticed was very dusty!!!). The cheaper the better at the moment as things are currently very tight. It would be nice to find something that I can continue feeding her in the winter when she drops weight so that I dont have to change again and just perhaps increase the amount????

Just to mention, she has suffered from colic, live out 24/7 on good grazing. She is 26 years old, 14hh and ridden lightly.

Thanks in advance

 

[Spit That Out]

Try something like fiberbeet or speedibeet which you could add to your chaff and the juice off the beet will soften the food but won't make her fizzy.
You could also try adding fiber nuts as this will help her gut movements and they can be made mushy by adding water or again the juice off the beet.
My friend uses the local feed merchants own brand fiber nuts and hey only cost £3.85 a bag.

In the summer my lad only gets a handful of Happy Hoof just so he gets his vits and mins and i just pinch the juice of someone else's soaking beet to soften it up so if there is someone on your yard soaking beet you might be able to have a bit of their juice?

 

[SmartieBean09]

She does have a handful of high fibre nuts added to the chaff (sorry forgot that!) so perhaps I could leave out the chaff and replace with a full scoop of nuts and leave them to soak. That sounds ideal and very easy on my pocket!

She used to be fed fast fibre but it is £3 a bag more than the own brand!

Thank you SC

 

[Fii]

I had a pony that would bolt her food and then choke, so i used to scatter her food quite widely on the concrete yard, so she could only eat abit at at a time and then move on to the next, a bit like grazing.

 

[KarynK]

It might well be the nuts that are the problem, I have a TB mare that chokes occasionally and she does not have any nuts I go for mix and add plenty of moisture. She is greedy and will take whole mouthfuls and stuff it down so I add a large smooth stone to her bucket so she has to slow down and eat more slowly. Perhaps if you soak the nuts it might help?

I find that if she does get choke the food is not wet enough, I have to chase her around is she does choke to clear it.

 

[TGM]

I wouldn't feed chaff to a horse with a history of choke, particularly HiFi which is very coarse. Best bet would be an unmolassed beet such as Speedibeet which makes a great base for supplements, and will help keep weight on her if fed in greater amounts in the winter. If you do decide to feed cubes instead then make sure they are very well soaked.

 

[AmyMay]

Soak her feed thoroughly for an hour, and then feed it sloppy. Works for my horse whose prone to choke.

 

[SmartieBean09]

Thanks for your replies everyone.

It is definately the chaff she choked on as I hadnt added the nuts that day, as she had already been fed earlier that day. I had gone down to groom so just offered her a bit of chaff while I saw to her.

I think I am going to remove the chaff completely as suggested by TGM. At the moment money is a bit tight and a visit from the vet is not what I need right now.

I think I may buy some unmollassed beet and let the beet soak a few nuts until the bag of nuts is used up and then continue with the beet through the winter.

I always thought cubes would be better for a horse who suffers choke so interested that you go for a mix KarynK.

What would you feed an elderly horse who suffers from choke and drops weight in the winter? Anything alongside Sugarbeet?

I fed 16+ last year but this is quite expensive and I was going through a bag around every 10 days.

Thanks again everyone