feeding advice for mega esophagus

[shannonj85]

hi guys i was looking to see if anyone would be so kind to give me advice with feeding tips for mega esophagus. my poor boy just been diagnosed on friday with this vet reckons hes been born with it. hes an irish sport horse 17.3hh gelding. hes on topspec cool balancer and top spec linseed mash topline and shine chaff along with seaweed and garlic powder has been on this for over a year and has kept his weight and condition fab. ive had to take away hay and the chaff and now terrified he drops weight too fast specially in this cold season. i have replaced hay with grass nuts and speedi beet flakes at the moment for him to nibble and sip at hes getting same feed minus the chaff but very slurgy and three small meals rather than his big breakfast getting fed now at chest height to prevent any chance of choking. he has choked 6 times in last 6 months which led to this diagnosis. so all hay and anything that can make him choke has been taken away he also gets warm water to drink at all times in the winter too. if anyone has any experience with this i would be highly grateful to hear from you.
kind regards shannon & troy

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I do/have owned Friesians and they can suffer from this, presumed genetic, problem. You are doing all the things which I believe can reduce the choke episodes. Short soft hay might be able to be fed if from a really small holes net but soaked grass nuts and beet flakes seem to be the way forward. Add oil to increase calorie value if you are worried about maintaining condition and obviously very regular dentist checks to make sure the teeth are masticating food properly.

 

[nutjob]

I had one with megaoesophagus. I doubt he was born with it as there weren't any symptoms until he was 16. His diet at the time was a slurry of nuts, bailey no. 1 and micronised linseed. This was years ago and the vet recommended the Baileys product which is micronised wheat as he was struggling to maintain weight at first. I probably wouldn't give it now as there are more options of feeds available. Mine could graze on short grass but not long, whereas hay and chaff both caused problems. I also fed at head height. I'd be tempted to try the Halleys finefibre blox or something similar where the ingredients were chopped small.

You can sometimes stop a full on choke if you notice he's struggling by removing food and getting him moving a bit with his head up. Mine would tend to put his head down and try to gag it up but if you can get the head up and either massage the throat or get the horse moving it has a good chance of clearing, especially if you're only feeding liquids / slurry type stuff.

Mine lasted 7 years after diagnosis, eventually he was getting sinus infections and breathing issues caused by aspirating regurgitated food.

It was hard work, he was fed his last feed at midnight and the first at 5am in the morning as he couldn't be left with too much at once. I couldn't have managed him for so long if he wasn't at home.

 

[Caol Ila]

Yeah, but not a good experience. My friend's Friesian had it and died. No one knew until the horse went down suddenly, went into the hospital, and was PTS within four days. The horse was 12. Diagnosis was confirmed by a necropsy. Horse was very likely born with the genetic connective disorder that causes it, but it did not get to the point of presenting as anything at all until...well...it did.

Had the horse survived, my friend was advised that she could never eat hay again. She could eat short grass and basically a liquid diet. I think the vets told her to use those hay cube things soaked into sludge.

Sorry you're dealing with this.