I think my horse had 'minor' choke

Kokopelli

Kokopelli

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I had a rally on my horse tonight, it was only 10 mins down the road but trailered there as its a very busy road to go on his own.

Basically we get there and I just finished tacking up and I notice this weird noise comng from his throat, it was very quite which turned out he was just swallowing, I got a bit worried but not hugely.

I get on him waiting for the group before to finish and every now and again he tensed his neck very weirdly and swallowed. He looked like he was in a bit of pain.

So me being a panicky poo jumped off him and checked all down his gullet etc as I thought he was choking. I offered him some water and starting massaging his throat and he seemed fine.

I didn't ride much in the rally only walked and trotted as I didn't want to hurt him more.

Is it possible horses can have minor choke? Or maybe he had a bit of hay stuck in his throat as he never had his airways blocked I didn't think it was a major obstruction.

Is this possible?

(sorry for the rant but very worried person here)
 
Yeah, my gelding has had this before, where he hasn't chewed his food enough, before swallowing, and it got lodged in his throat, but not his air passage, as he was breathing fine, just was finding dislodging it, and swallowing it hard. He would swallow very hard and then tense in pain, but he eventually managed to dislodge it. I could tell it was choke as he refused to eat anything else, and generally looked down.

Normally they manage to sort themselves out, however if they carry on eating when they have choke, it can cause the food to come out of their nose (was talking to a vet about it, not personal experience), and sometimes the vets need to resort to flushing out their throat for them to remove the blockage by hand.

So yes, in short, it is very possible.
 
That sounds like choke, because of the horses physiology, the airway isn't obstructed. I know someone whose horse suffered choke for a week, the vet made several visits and it was eventually found that she had swallowed a piece of plastic, which was finally extracted. The horse was fine afterwards, although she had lost a lot of weight.
 
vikkiandmonica said:
Yeah, my gelding has had this before, where he hasn't chewed his food enough, before swallowing, and it got lodged in his throat, but not his air passage, as he was breathing fine, just was finding dislodging it, and swallowing it hard. He would swallow very hard and then tense in pain, but he eventually managed to dislodge it. I could tell it was choke as he refused to eat anything else, and generally looked down.

Normally they manage to sort themselves out, however if they carry on eating when they have choke, it can cause the food to come out of their nose (was talking to a vet about it, not personal experience), and sometimes the vets need to resort to flushing out their throat for them to remove the blockage by hand.

So yes, in short, it is very possible.
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Thankyou this sounds just like what he had I'm just glad I know what it is!

I am very worried about his food pipe (forgot fancy name) swelling up as I know this very common and can cause further problems like phnemonia! I guess I just gotta keep a close eye on him!
 
Kokopelli said:
Thankyou this sounds just like what he had I'm just glad I know what it is!

I am very worried about his food pipe (forgot fancy name) swelling up as I know this very common and can cause further problems like phnemonia! I guess I just gotta keep a close eye on him!
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No problem :D

I've never heard of that myself, but I was told to leave them alone to sort themselves out, besides possibly walking them round to try and stimulate them swallowing, but not to try and get the food down by rubbing their neck or anything, as this can cause damage to the pipe too, so if it happens again, I would just leave well alone, even if it is just walking him around, or putting him in a stable without food so that he can sort himself out without making the choke worse. I was told that (by my knowledgable YO), if you just watch them, you will know when they have swallowed the blockage as it sounds like a flushing toilet... Never heard this personally, but apparently there is a noise made, and then your horse will go back to normal, or at least, Wings did. I would make sure his teeth are filed etc. as that can be a cause of choke as they can't grind their food enough.

Hope this helps :D
 
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