Choke

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misterjinglejay

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My horse came down with choke this evening for the first time.
In all my years (!) of dealing with nags, I've never had a horse with it.

There seemed little point in calling the vet, as they are 10 miles away. Was that stupid of me?

He recovered after a few minutes, so I wiped the gunk out of his nostrils, and settled in to watch him. He seemed okay, a bit shaken but okay.

What are the long term implications of choke, if any?

It really shook me up - he was so panicy. I've rugged him up well to prevent a chill.

Just wanting general advice, and reassurance, please.

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My horse had choke, for the first time ever a few months ago. It seemed to be triggered by someone feeding her a carrot that was too large, and after that she had 3 or 4 episodes of choke. I think the carrot may have irritated her throat.

The vet came out on one of those occasions, but all they can really do is give them a muscle relaxant. The first time it happened, there was already a vet on the yard, and she told us to give her a bit of dry food which seemed to ease down the blockage.

If it persists you can ask the vet to perform an endoscopy I think. Most importantly though, are your horses teeth due for the dentist? Since my mare's were done, (she was nearly due, but after this she'll have them done every 6 months rather than annually) I haven't had another choking episode, touch wood. Also, always make sure your horses feed is damp, I always used to add water but now make it even wetter to prevent it happening again.
 
if it only been the once dont worry , it sometimes caused by the horse being greedy , it shouldnt cause any after problems
if it a reacurance get vet to do a endoscopy , but also teeth need to be cheacked if havent reciently
 
This happened to me in the summer. Awful.
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Pony gobbled some hayledge to quick and developed choke. The vet was called and pony was sedated. He decided that he did'nt like that and had a mini rear, the needle came out and something happened. (not sure what really). The vet managed to sort the blockage out, and all was well for a day or so. I started to notice a really bad smell but could'nt work out where it was coming from. I then discovered the smell was coming from where the injection had been given. Within hours it was oozing puss, it had become infected. It was the worst smell. The hole got bigger and he ended up with a large hole in his neck. The vet seemed to think he had a reaction to the drug itself.
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He was on box rest for 4 weeks and took a long time to heal, but it healed really well. I thought he would end up with a dent in his neck, but his lovely curls hide it.
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Iam very careful when feeding him as well now. I always make sure i stay until he finishes his feed. Think ive become a little neurotic about it. But thats probably something to do with the £1k plus vet bill.
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My vet told me to only feed grass or soaked hay from hay net after a choke. because where the throat has been irritated by the choke it can contract or become inflamed for afew days. So until throat is back to normal the horse has a higher chance of choking again.
 
My boy got choke once.
I stupidly threw a handful of dry nuts on the ground for him and he scoffed them too quickly and choked.
Basically he couldn't swallow. He kept arching is neck in pain -like a spasm. Eventually saliva builds up in front of the blokage and then pours out of their nose and mouth. Thats quite scary.
If you can feel a blockage then its best to try and massage it gently. Sometimes this is enough to move it but if not you need the vet.
I was lucky in that my boy cleared it himself - in fact most do eventually but its still best to get the vet and defintely have it investigated if it happens more than just a one off.
 
My boy had choke a couple of years ago - massaging his throat was not working and my vet was on an emergency call out elsewhere and would be at least an hour.

I did speak to my vet over the phone though and she told me to take my horse out on the lunge line and quickly push him into trot to try and dislodge the blockage. This worked very well and it only took 1 transition into trot.

After that he's always had wetter food and we've had no other instances since
 
it usually only happens very occasionally, but 1 of mine had it 3 weeks running 2 summers ago, purely due to bolting her food like a starved pig. i had to get the vet every time.
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bmb, it's very obvious, they can't swallow (they can still get air in though, don't panic, they won't suffocate!), you can see them straining, and sometimes if it's very bad you will hear a high-pitched whistling noise as the air they can get through squeezes through the impacted food.
i now feed this horse a mega-soupy feed every time. she's never had it from hay, even dry hay.
after an episode their throat can be swollen so very wet foods are a good idea.
you can put big pebbles in their feed bowl to slow them down too, this can work.
 
Following on from advice given to me by Kerilli, I now ensure that my horse's feed is thoroughly soaked for around an hour or so prior to giving it to him - after several episodes of choke two winters ago.

I soak the nuts, until they swell, and after having added everything else, ensure that the feed is also fed very wet.

My problem is that the horse won't touch his haylage until he's had his tea - which he was bolting.

Thankfully our episodes of choke have been far and few between since receiving this advice.
 
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(they can still get air in though, don't panic, they won't suffocate!),

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a relief as it's exactly what I was worrying about.

Fortunately, although my horse bolts her food, she likes it sloppy
 
We've got a greedy mare that used to regulary choke...turns out it was because she was too greedy to bother with chewing so lumps of carrot were the usual culprits!

When we spoke to the vet they advised to to always call them out as if what ever they're choking on doesn't shift the swelling can cause probelms with breathing and the discomfort/stress could lead to colic.

She normally has a muscle relaxant injection then has to stay in with no food for 8 hours then back to normal if no further problems...

...this horse is no longer allowed carrots!
 
Carrots should be julienne whenever fed. As Cuckoo says, gently massaging the neck with a down-towards-the-stomach move can clear a choke attack. A choke is when the food is stuck in the oesophagus (food pipe) not the trachea (wind pipe). Horses breathe through their noses so only a significant lump would block the windpipe as well, by pressing on it from the "next door" food pipe. Air doesn't have to squeeze through the food blockage. Above all, don't panic as you will only make the horse panic too. Call the vet if it isn't going to clear on its own or if the horse is in significant distress. Just to clarify, large pebbles should = bricks or that sort of size as piggy horses could accidentally swallow smaller stones.
 
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