What is choke?
‘Choke’ refers to an obstruction (usually food) in the oesophagus (food pipe), rather than the trachea (windpipe). This can be a very scary experience both as an owner and for the horse.
The most common sign of choke is sudden coughing, retching and discomfort immediately after eating. This is often followed by saliva and food material pouring out of the horse’s nostrils. This can look extremely dramatic but will often pass quickly.
What should I do?
If your horse starts to choke, call your vet. They may give you advice over the phone or recommend a visit if your horse does not clear the choke rapidly themself. Whilst waiting for the vet to arrive you should remove all food and keep the horse as quiet as possible. Sometimes, walking them around can alleviate the stress and massaging the jugular groove of the neck encourages the blockage to pass. We don’t advise trying to ‘flush’ the choke yourself using syringes or a hosepipe as this may cause the horse to aspirate water and food material.
What will the vet do?
On arrival, the vet will examine your horse thoroughly. To help clear a choke we will often heavily sedate the horse give them a muscle relaxant. This allows the blockage to drain, reduces risk of aspiration and allows the neck muscles to fully relax. In some cases, this is enough to allow the blockage to pass, and the horse is then allowed to wake up from sedation feeling much better. If the choke persists, the vet may then pass a stomach tube down your horse’s throat and flush with water to aid clearing the blockage.
Will my horse be ok afterwards?
In most cases, once the obstruction has cleared the horse is immediately much happier. We normally advise that they are starved for a while to rest their oesophagus in case of inflammation. Occasionally, choke may have some lasting side effects such as chest infections or damage to the oesophagus that may require ongoing intervention, but this is rare.
Will it happen again?
There are a few things you can do to reduce your horse’s chances of getting choke, including:
- Regular dental checks to ensure they can chew properly
- Altering your horse’s diet to make their feed more ‘sloppy’
- Slow down their eating. If your horse is prone to gobbling consider adding something to their feed bowl like a deflated football that they have to eat around.
- Turnout – it’s very difficult to choke on grass!
- Not feeding large chunks of solid vegetables such as carrots turnip or swede