Pony with choke

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lozz

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Hey guys,
My pony suffered choke today, scared me very much! I massaged his neck whilst he coughed and paniced and eventually it all came foaming out his nose (all down my leg!). This was all down to some hay that I gave them in the field and he ate it too fast and didn't chew properly, he has always had the problem of eating too fast but didn't until today realise the consequences were that terrifying.
Does anyone else have a horse that bolts food down? What can I do to slow him down? Any ideas are greatly appreciated, and please be nice :( I'm still pretty shaken up from the whole experience. :confused:
 
I sympathise with you, my boy had choke 3 weeks ago (he'd swallowed some tree bark!!) Keep an eye out for a cough, as this could mean he swallowed some of the food\saliva mix and given himself a lung infection. Make his feed a bit sloppier than usual (try adding some bran mash to make it runny) as bailey found it impossible to bolt runny food! Soak his hay for 15 minutes or so before you feed it to him, maybe distribute it into lots of small piles in the field so he doesn't just stand in one place and scoff the lot, he has to have a break whilst he walks to the next pile :) keep his food mushy for the next few days at least in case the blockage has made his throat sore xx
 
My horse has had choke twice and like you say it's a horrible condition to deal with. On the second dose of choke, I syringed a bit of vegetable oil into his throat, not a huge amount but this definitely shifted the blockage and he got over the episode much quicker. I always keep oil at hand now and food must be mixed with water etc etc
 
We had a section d who was a devil for choke. Give him a bucket feed he would just open him mouth as far as he could and take a massive mouthful and just swallow, no chewing involved at all.

He got fixed by feeding him a huge belfast sink with a lot of huge round/smooth stones, we sprinked his competition mix/chaff and sugarbeet over and under the stones. That stopped the greedy little wotsit, took him hours to pick the bits up and never choked again.

Any horse prone to it must not be fed in the field in a competitive environment, they just will bolt it in case another horse nicks it. Hay wise I would spread it very sparsely over a large area and soak it.

Obviously eliminate teeth issues and keep teeth care up to date.
 
One of mine used to get in all the time.

The first time it happened it frightened the life out of me but I've had her 19 years now and now when it happens I'm more like "here we go again".

It only happens a couple of times a year now as I always feed her slop - very wet kwik beet and pony cubes and I wait until the cubes are like mush as well. Shew won't eat soaked hay though but if I was you I would soak your hay in future.

She's a really greedy thing and bolts her food, it usually clears itself in about 20 minutes and I just keep a close eye on her the next 24 hours in case she develops pneumonia (she never has).
 
It is a horrible thing to see - especially the first time. My little Sect A will choke on dry hay if we're not careful.

You can syringe oil - or even water - into the mouth during an episode to help clear it. If it lasts more than 20 mins - call the vet.

Watch out for Asipration Pneumonia - where they inhale food matter. A lot of vets will say you should call them out for any choke to give prophylactic antibiotics - but I do tend to wait 24 hours now as it happens more often. But do watch for it as if it gets established it can cause no end of trouble - not to mention being expensive and potentailly fatal.

The other thing to watch for is that they don't scare themselves so much they then colic. I always feed bran mash as a precaution after choke.

Soak the hay, spread it out. If in a haynet, double net it. Some neds will choke once and then never again - some are prone to it. Hopefully you'll not see another one . But if you do - at least you'll know what to do!

Lots of Hugs. I think I shook for days the first time!
 
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