Choking !!

[gillybean]

My mare has just started bolting her feed down. Last night after her tea she started choking. She leant back on her feet (laminitis stance) her eyes rolled back into her head, it was awful. She carried on for about 10 mins. I was stroking her gullet to try and dislodge the blockage which I couldnt feel. I went to get help from the yard owner as I got back (30 secs later) we saw her wrench and cough heavily and cleared herself. She then seemed fine. I stayed a while and she was ok. Her feed was damp(pasture mix) any suggestions to what I can put with it to slow her down. She doesnt need any more weight on.She is turned out in a lovely field every day for 4 hours, she is not starving, her teeth are fine. I only feed her a handful, but that is what she is used to. She really scared me and I am worried now in case she does it when no-one is there. She has choked once before but that was on an apple 1/4 and we could see it, the vet had to come to dislodge it but it happened a lot quicker last night. Shall I damp or not? Confused to bits...

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[vhf]

There's loads of advice on choking on the internet, as for bolting her food, try large, halved swedes to slow her down? Or maybe chaff?
I'm pretty sure very damp food is a good start, but might be worth having a chat with the vet just in case there's something underlying this sudden change in habit?

It's terrifying when they do it, been there!

 

[Sparklet]

I have a one that does this and she did have a problem with her teeth, despite being treated reguarly by a dentist (got the vet out for a proper diagnosis) so it may be worth checking them.

Massaging the throat is the recommended treatment and it does look pretty frightening but choke usually clears without problem so dont worry too much. She may have caused her throad to swell a bit becuase of the choke so you may want to make sure her feed is very damp - to the point of being wet.

I always wet feeds to prevent it anyway.

 

[Tia]

Same as Sparklet; I also have one who does this, nothing physically wrong with him and he doesn't even bolt his food so no idea why he does it. I always soak his feed now and it has rectified the problem.

Choke is very scary the first time you see it so I am not surprised you were concerned, however it is rarely something to panic over, except in exceptional and unfortunate circumstances. Most times just quietly rubbing the gullet will help dislodge it. The worst thing you can do is to panic, keep very calm and just deal with it.

 

[kcgibson]

my mum's horse does this too! If she eats in the stable she is fine (which is strange cos the feed bucket is off the floor in a corner manger, so i would have expected the natural eating position to be best - any ideas on this??) but when she eats it outside the stable she gets choke just occassionaly. We have always soaked her feed although she has lost a tooth or two (she is 23years!) and we can only assume his is the cause and she issnt chewing her food effectively. When she does it, we rub her throat/gullet (down the left side as i understand this is the side the food travels down and we can feel it!) and we usually staay with her until she starts to eat again (this can take 20 mins or so). she also rolls over and brings up mucus. My vet told me that rolling in horses is just a sign of pain as they dont really know what to do with themselves, so its not just a sign of colic. Its def worth speaking to your vet for advice but there may be nothing that can be done. I was worried tht mum's horse may have a tumour growing and blocking her oesophagus but i was told by my vet that tumours in this area are very uncommon.

 

[nikanita]

Had the same problem with our mare. Took 40 minutes to clear her blockage. Was very scarey at the time. I give her her food more like soup now. Also had her teeth checked, and there were a few sharp edges. So definatley worthwhile having her teeth checked. The other option is put a large stone, too large to eat in her food which will slow her eating down. I won't leave her alone to eat anymore, just in case.

 

[Shilasdair]

Hi
If it makes you feel better, horses don't choke like we do...when we choke, our airways usually get accidentally blocked with food...we turn blue etc. Horses' airway (trachea) and gullet (oesophagus) are different so when they choke it's normally just a blockage or food lump in the gullet so they won't turn blue and keel over quite as easily.
Damp the feed, maybe add chaff, or give her it in little handfuls so she can't scoff the lot.
The large stone idea definitely works..or you could try scattering it in the field/floor so she only finds a bit at a time.
One of the feed balls which trickles out feed would also stop her choking.
Hope this helps/makes you feel better.
S