Choke

[The_Mermaid]

Hi Guys,

I'm new here - first post ! Wish it were of a different nature mind.

My TB mare has had 2 bouts of choke in the past 72 hours. She hasn't had choke before. The first bout was mild, albeit worrying all the same, as she panicked and wanted to go down, which at first made me think she was collicking. We massaged her throat and got the obstruction moving, and within 10 minutes she was cautiously eating some sloppy feed.
She had been munching on a haylage net at the time it happened.

Next day...nothing. She was fine.

Tonight, she has another haylage net ( medium holed ) and after just a few mouthfuls, I noticed her neck contract violently. I untied her, walked her round and massaged her neck, but to no avail. Something was well and truly stuck, although I couldn't feel anything. She was soon choking, her neck contracting and saliva running from her nose.

Vet was called immediately and he gave her a relaxant, as she was shaking and despite being very calm she was clearly in discomfort. He left, saying to stand with her for 2 hours to see if she could move it. She didn't improve and I called him out again, as she was wanting to go down and she was making a slight noise with her breathing. As soon as he arrived however, she turned a corner. We had moved her to a new stable with a thick bed so she could lie down if she wanted, and she was picking at some haylage in the rack :-o - I stopped her as last thing i wanted was for her to eat dry forage, but it was a good sign and she accepted some very sloppy mash, albeit very cautiously again, as though she'd learnt her lesson.

Problem is I don't know what could have caused this. She had her teeth done approx 6 months ago, but vet said he though her molars did need doing again as had some sharp edges. She's been out at grass for 6 months, and the grass was plentiful. 3 weeks ago she arrived at her new home, and the grass is shorter so she did tuck into her haynet with gusto. Combination of being a bit greedy plus not chewing properly perhaps? I am having her teeth done asap next week, but must say I'm going to avoid giving her a net in the meantime.

Don't think I've quite relaxed yet. It was horrible to see her struggling for 2 hours like that

and there was nothing I could do except watch.

Oh and to add, when I pulled her in from the paddock, her nostrils were pinched. Just something very small, but I noticed it straight away and alarm bells started even before we'd reached the yard.

Should I arrange a scope to be on the safe side?

Kelly x

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Hmmm. I think I'd be concerned too. Any horse can have an episode of choke and it's shocking for an owner to watch and probably terrifying for the horse. However, to have two episodes in such a short time makes you wonder whether she has some other, underlying problem, even if it's just that her throat is sore and a litttle swollen from the first attack, thus predisposing her to a second one. What did your vet say? I suppose it's possible she will never have another episode in her whole life but then again she could have another one tomorrow. I think I'd ask the vet for an opinion before rushing for an endoscopic examination that might not actually tell you much. Good luck vibes on their way xxx oh and PS - warm welcome to the Forum lol! xxx

 

[Kallibear]

I've had two horses who choke regularly - they both gobble their food down. One was starved and was possesive over his food, the other is just plain greedy! They did it with fibre bucket feeds (didn't matter how wet it was, it was the first couple of rushed mouthfuls that did it) and occasinally hay.

She is much more likely to choke again very soon after the first epsisode as her oesphegus will be swollen and narrower.

Couple of things I found really helped - feeding from the ground is important. Having a haynet changes their jaw action and encourages snatching and gobbling and abnormal movement of the neck muscles.

Handfeeding the first couple of mouthfuls. Once the initial excitment was over they'd slow down and eat normally.

I wouldn't rush into an endoscopic examinination yet - to be frankly honest it may tell you whats going on (possibly scar tissue or similar) but your unlikely to be able to do anything about it once you know.

I've give her a couple of days to recover, and some antiinflammatories if you have any about (vet may give you some if you ask). I'd leave her on good grass so she doesn't need any supplementary feeding (unless she's laminitic!), or give her saoked grass nuts as a hay replacement for a couple of days if you need to.

 

[kellyeaton]

when you feed from are bucket put a house brick in the middle of the bucket so she has to nibble around it in stead of muching it like a mad one! maybe try her hay on the floor aswell!

 

[The_Mermaid]

Thanks for your replies.

She is fine this morning. I popped a rug on her and turned her out last night as thought that would be best to prevent a re-occurance. She was happy this morning and greeted me as usual.

She has quite a large prophets thumb mark, which the vet said probably doesn't help, and she windsucks too. She's been grabbing a post more often than she normally does, which could be linked to her being at a new home, although she is remarkably settled with a new friend. If she is contracting her neck more than usual, and then grabbing at her haylage net, the two together might not be helping.

She does eat her hard food quite quicky too, although she hasn't had any for approx 6 months now, as has been out at grass. She is also very possessive over her dinner.

I've heard similiar, with putting rocks in their food, so they pick around them. And hay on floor, is good idea although until her teeth have been done, I'm not giving her any. Thing is she has always ate her haylage fast, and her dinner the same, and never had this before, so it's probably a combination of a few things.

Thanks again - fingers crossed we can avoid a reoccurance.

Kelly

 

[ischa]

hi i would be very looking on with caution as too have two choking fits would consern me but maybe its her being greedy but in another way as said it maybe a underlying problem and if she does it again i would get vet to do a deeper examation to find out what could be causing it

 

[kerilli]

i have one total piggy who is prone to choke (3 attacks in 3 weeks, all requiring vet attention), and i now make sure that every hard feed she gets is like soup, standing water to the top of it, very very sloppy. if i forget and make it slightly less wet, she'll choke again.
as above, if the first time bruised her throat a bit, it might be narrower for a while. i'd feed her only from the floor, and keep an eye on her... and have her scoped if it happens again, i think.
best of luck, it really is awful to watch and so worrying.