Horse scared me tonight :(

[Nannon]

Got my boy in from the field tonight after work to give him a groom and his dinner. Literally chucked him in a pen and went to get my grooming kit and tie him up and he grabbed a gobful of hay. Picked out his feet and he was bing a bit funny then started coughing and straining and retching. The other girls at the yard went to get some help as he was trying to go down in the pen and there was green gunge coming out of his nose and mouth and he was straining and all sorts. Yard owner syringed him with liquid paraffin and water and it seemed to pass so I walked him round in hand for half hour or so then let him settle for a bit and gave him a really sloppy dinner and hung around for ages until I had to put him out and come home. Scared the living daylights out of me
I'm guessing a mouthful of hay went down the wrong way but one of the girls said he might have a lung infection or something? He hasn't got a cough or anything but he has been very lazy in the school recently :/
Is there anything I need to watch out for now he's had a choke? Worrying about everything now hope hell be ok overnight!!

 

[Cortez]

Choke can be very scary, and you do need to keep an eye on him in case of any inhalation infections/inhalation pneumonia, but he will most likely be fine. Greedy horses can often swallow before they should and get things down the wrong pipe, so to speak.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Welcome to the nasty world of choke. As Cortez said he should be fine. Having his head down all night will help, you have not put hay in the field have you ?

If he is a gutsy feeder it is worth using a very large flat feed bowl so you spread the feed very thinly over a large area. A few large smooth stones in the bucket also slow down greedy feeders. Double net your hay so he cannot grab and gulp.

He may have a discharge down his nose in the morning and if you are still worried he is not right take his temperature.

 

[Pigeon]

Argh, it's the worst!! Mine got it once about three days after I bought him, never had it since (touch wood) and it's been three years. I'd had a pony have it once before, lots of years ago, who made some terrible noises but was fine after fifteen minutes - but still scared the life out of me. (one on haylage on on hay)

 

[mynutmeg]

Choke is definately scary. Keep an eye on him incase he's inhaled something and develops a lung infection. He's going to have a sore throat so will be more prone to having a further choke for a few days so keep all feed nice and sloppy .

Point to note is that equine choke is rarely food going down the trachea (breathing tube), it's an impaction or blockage of food in the oesphagus (food pipe) but the build up of food and saliva can go into the lungs causing pneumonia.
If in doubt have the vet out to check the horse

 

[Nannon]

Thanks - it's such a horrible moment! I kept him as far away from any hay as I could after, no hay in his field either so hopefully he can't find anything else to choke on :/
Should I give him a day off tomorrow or would a quite walk hack be good just to move anything off his lungs?

 

[mynutmeg]

Thanks - it's such a horrible moment! I kept him as far away from any hay as I could after, no hay in his field either so hopefully he can't find anything else to choke on :/
Should I give him a day off tomorrow or would a quite walk hack be good just to move anything off his lungs?

I would see how he is tomorrow - anything that makes you think he's not feeling well / has a temp or anything like that then I'd be getting him checked, otherwise a quite wander out would be fine. My girl likes choking on her hay this summer (scares the c**p out of me as she had a very severe choke last summer and spent a week in the Dick Vet's with pneumonia so slightly paranoid) and I find that walking her helps to clear it.

 

[Nannon]

Thanks will definitely be keeping a close eye on him, now he's on a yard with other people about its more of a relief someone will have an eye on him at some point before I get down there!!