Nova had a bad case of choke today... and it almost came to teh point that the emergency vet had to come down.... but after 10 mins of pawing, stuff coming out her nose.. and trying her hardest to get it up and massageing her throat she finally got it unstuck.. sweating like mad... I was so scared for my girl that I sat with her for an extra hour just to make sure she was okay.. and I know it happened because shes aggressive with her food she eats it so fast that I dont even think she chews it all the way... whats a good way to SLOW her eatting down???
Some were saying maybe put one or 2 salt blocks in there so she has to go around them.. does that actually work?
I did call the vet about 5 mins into it.. and left them my number .. but the "on call emergency" vet.... never called me back nor answered the phone.. that really made me mad.. what if it was a serious case..?! Mini rant of frusteration over lol
Salt licks, or very large rocks. It slows them down because she can't just shove her face in and start eating....she has to eat around some things. Also you can try soaking her feed so its a little mushy and easier to swallow
First off, sorry this happened I've had that happen and it absolutely sucks.
Second,
wet down her food. It will help the choking tremendously. I work at a place with older horses who all have a greater risk for choke. Since they started wetting down food, it hasn't happened. And when my horse choked, that's what the vet told me to do.
you could also put a salt lick IN her food bowl (I use food pans so it's easier to do in those) to slow her down a bit.
What do you feed her in? Do you use a bucket, a feed pan, a feeder? Knowing that might help everyone come up with ways to slow her down. I would also want to know if she eats in a pen with other horses and how her teeth are.
If she's in with other horses, putting her by herself to eat would help tremendously. If she's already by herself, I'd need more information.
Shes fed in a stall - so shes by her self. Shes fed with those corner feeders/bowl things ... the ones that hang up.. not sure if you would call those "feeders"?
Eventerdrew - I can bring it up to my barn owner about switching to a pan. it seems to be a more like relaxed position as well, and it will be harder for her to dive down so hard for the food.
Ill go out and by a few salt blocks or maybe just throw some good sized rocks in there.
So the "vet" never called you back? Never even came out? What an ***.
I agree with the above. Wet her food, get a pan, and add some softball-sized rocks. Also, I know the vet hasn't been out yet for your "pre-purchase" exam, so it could very well be her teeth. I'm betting it's her teeth, actually.
And someone would have to verify this, I may have it backwards, but smaller pellets/grains [i.e. Omolene and such] are easier to choke on than, say, alfalfa or grass cubes.
I would say soak her food for sure. My horse used to choke all the time no matter what i did, even from a pan on the ground with rocks in it! I even tried feeding him small amounts at a time, and he would still choke on a handful of grain. He gets equine senior so it's great soaked, and i've been doing it now for about a year and no problems, except he can only get fed at night cause the barn owners won't soak his food. I've also noticed that he won't choke on oats, it's just pellets. I'm also very lucky he has done it enough he stays calm, until he can work it down.
HAF, terrifying! I hate it, even though most chokes are not life threatening, they look horrid and scare you to death. My guy had a bad one (hospital overnight and all) a few months back, he's also a wolfer of his food.
One thing to keep in mind is that she could develop pneumonia from all the coughing/gagging so keep an extra close eye on her. Since the choke didn't last that long, I wouldn't be too worried about scarring or long term effects. Glad she's ok now!
If she keeps doing it (heaven forbid!) then I would have the vet scope her and see if there's something going on down there. Choking can leave some pretty nice sized scars if they do it enough.
My yearling choked 4 times last year. It is such a scary thing to have happen. She is not a picky eater at all, different circumstances each time. I was able to massage and help her clear it out all but once. That one time she had to have the vet flush it out.
My vet would treat with an antibiotic in case of developing pneumonia from aspirating.
Soak her feed, both hay and grain.
Feed in smaller increments if possible.
If this still occurs I would definitely have the vet scope for abnormalities.
Good luck!
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