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Throat/stomach spasms

2K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Chris1949 
#1 ·
I`ll try to keep this brief.
Arab stallion 13 years old, always had slight cough, not stopped him completing 80 mile endurance rides. Stabled, fed hay,cubes,soaked sugar beet. 2/3 months ago started coughing more than usual, and drinking less. 2 weeks ago `choke`, vet attention, 25litres perfusion. OK after 24 hours. Started choking again. Only drinks from stream, i.e. when head is almost between legs. Small amount of grass starts choking again. Recovers quickly but stqrts choking again very quickly. Could this be scarring in the oesophagous? Or are there any other more obvious reasons why he will only drink in same position. Could the oesophagous have a `kink` in it, like a poor quality hosepipe? Silly question I know. I will ad that we are in very rural France with no horse specialists anywhere near. Any suggestions greatfully received.
Thank you,
Chris.
 
#2 ·
It could definately be scaring in the oesophagus, this is called a stricture and it occurs because scar tissue contracts and is not elastic like the rest of the normal tissue so it cause a permanent narrowing that leads to reccuring choke issues. This can be helped a bit by putting a tube down their oesophagus that has a balloon on it then blowing up the balloon to stretch out the narrowed area. The other option is a full on surgery but the oesophagus does not heal well and is a bit of a nightmare to do surgery on.
 
#3 ·
Hi,
Thanks for your input.
Scarring is a possibility after the choke incident, but doesn't explain why he had cut down his drinking prior to having choke. I think it is perhaps more complicated and we'll need a camera down his throat to see what exactly is the problem.
 
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