Horse apparently chokes on chaff

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Katieandnik

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Hi all new here and have a new horse.
He's a 17.2 irish sports horse (he's humongous lol)

I have been told I cannot feed him chaf by both old owner and yard manager as he chokes but I feel he needs a bulk feed.
Iv always fed my horses chaf and had no problem so this is brand new to me atm he's on 1 scoop of sugar beat and 1 scoop of mix as advised by previous owner. He's not under weight at all and has alot of haylege buttttt he hasn't been worked for years and now I'm riding like 3 times a week. . Including schooling jumping and hacks
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Katie x
 
Sounds like his diet is sufficient for his needs really. Chaff is a fibre source, as is sugar beet - so I don't see anything to worry about.
I don't feed chaff - I use beet or one of the soakble fibre feed (Fast Fibre/Veteran Vitality)
 
I'm not quite sure what you mean about him needing 'a bulk feed' - the sugar beet will add lots of fibre to his bucket feed, and as you say, he has plenty of haylage so plenty of fibre there as well. Going without chaff won't harm him in anyway and it is not worth the risk if you know he chokes on it.
 
I've had horses choke on chaff - almost always because they are greedy feeders.

As others have said - just replace chaff with a soakable fibre feed. If you are worried about sugar beet use fast fibre or soakable grass nuts or similar. There are loads out there. Watch his weight as his workload increases and if he needs more then add something like linseed. It doesn't sound like you can increase the bulk of his feed too much more from where you are anyway. They only have tiny stomachs!
 
I stopped feeding it years ago because of choke. It's a common cause of it, especially the molassed ones. No need to feed it if you have an alternative, as Auslander says.
 
Its my understanding that if a horse repeatedly chokes its because it needs it teeth rasping or because there is some abnormality in its throat or esophagus that prevents food from travelling down in the correct manner. If they have choked once they stand more chance of repeating this. Maybe it would be worth getting your vet to have a look at his teeth and if there is a problem either getting him or an EDT to rasp his teeth accordingly?

But like others have pointed out, there are plenty of alternatives to chaff.
 
That's all great advice Thankyou all tbh I have never had a horse choke on chaf and has always been used to when making his feed it's abit alien to me . He is am extremely greedy feeder and he basically inhales his feed. Is there anything I can add to slow him down? I used to put a small football in the bucket so they would have to nuzzle around it with past horses is this still an Ok thing to do?! Lol times have changes so much!
We used to feed chaf to 'bulk up' his feed so there was more feed there and it would be a longer meal instead of just hoovering up the mix and beat lol

Also he had his teeth done last week they were overgrown and suspected not been done for a few years! But all are good now.

Thanks again guys any help with his feed is greatly appreciated xx
 
It's likely it was his teeth then
If you really want to use the chaff to bulk out his feed them just make sure its really wet...my cob will choke on chaff if its dry ish but never when wet.
 
Yes sounds like it was his teeth after all. Might be worth trying, but like HP says very wet chaff. And a stone in his feed bucket or a brick to slow him down.
 
applecart14 said:
Its my understanding that if a horse repeatedly chokes its because it needs it teeth rasping or because there is some abnormality in its throat or esophagus that prevents food from travelling down in the correct manner. If they have choked once they stand more chance of repeating this. Maybe it would be worth getting your vet to have a look at his teeth and if there is a problem either getting him or an EDT to rasp his teeth accordingly?

But like others have pointed out, there are plenty of alternatives to chaff.
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Not necessarily, my Welsh D was just a greedy barsteward who simply opened him mouth like a hippo and consumed the lot in one go without chewing. Did it from 3yr old to 29 yr old. Choked for fun and the only way I could get grub in safely was to trickle feed in a huge flat bottomed bowl with round stones covering the entire base. Very time consuming as he had a fair bit of grub being a 2 day a week hunter.

Of course keeping teeth in good order is crucial and a basic task but some horses are just greedy and even worse if fed in a group.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Not necessarily, my Welsh D was just a greedy barsteward who simply opened him mouth like a hippo and consumed the lot in one go without chewing. Did it from 3yr old to 29 yr old. Choked for fun and the only way I could get grub in safely was to trickle feed in a huge flat bottomed bowl with round stones covering the entire base. Very time consuming as he had a fair bit of grub being a 2 day a week hunter.

Of course keeping teeth in good order is crucial and a basic task but some horses are just greedy and even worse if fed in a group.
Click to expand...

Oh I have a highland who does that, he's never choked and only gets a handful of feed so he's not left out but he licks his lips as I walk to his stable ( so funny to watch and he drouls at the thought of it coming) and he just opens his mouth, gone in 1 go, he's unreal
 
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