# Recovery from Choke - tips?



## ArabLover98 (Aug 9, 2012)

Hi everyone. My mare had a rather scary bout of choke this morning, and it ended up with the vet coming out and having to flush it out with a tube down her nose. He gave me several instructions as far as her recovery. Right now she's on stall rest, and I'm avoiding hay for 3-4 days. I'm supposed to give her a little bit of a "slurpee" mash and see how that goes down either later tonight or tomorrow. 

For those who've had horses with choke, what were some things you were able to do to ease their recovery? Is a little bit of coughing (no discharge) normal after the procedure? He gave her a painkiller and antibiotic to prevent pneumonia, as she's a little older. I know she'll be sore for a while and that the painkillers are going to wear off soon, so I was just wondering if anyone had any tips to make her recovery extra-comfy.  She's still a little woozy right now but is relaxed and resting. Dreading the bill in the mail, but glad she's ok! :happydance:


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## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

What actually caused it? Were you feeding her anything you dont normally feed? My horse choked once, not as bad as yours....but he always eats his food so fast so I just knew it was going to happen again...I bought the "pre vent" feeder, its slowed him down SO much. He chokes from eating too fast though, yours may be from something different...so maybe wetting hay/food...just depends on the situation and why it happened.


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## ArabLover98 (Aug 9, 2012)

Grain was what was stopping her up - the vet flushed a huge chunk of it out. She has been on this feed for a while now, and it hasn't caused any problems. This is the first time she's ever choked, since I've had her (coming up on 7 years). I think maybe it was just bolting it with the combination of her teeth, perhaps? She's in her mid-late twenties and it _has _been a while since her teeth were floating. So as soon as she recovers, I'll be checking into that. 

As far as short term...her procedure was done around five hours ago. I just made her some mash and she seemed completely dis-interested. I realize she probably has a bunch of fluid in there from all that flushing as well as the combination of just being sick, but what would be a normal time frame for her appetite to return? She normally never turns down a meal. In other words, at what point should I be worried about her lack of appetite?


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I had one choke pretty badly a few years ago. The vet had to come out and flush, there was blood everywhere (from his nose). He had gotten a hay cube stuck in his throat. I didn't soak it long enough before giving it to him so now he gets hay pellets water down instead of the cubes (he only has 4 teeth). 

He didn't like his feed watered down so he kind of turned his nose up at it when I gave it to him like that. After a couple days he was back to normal. I think his throat was sore, I"m sure it was probably scratched.

Good luck!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Choke is one of the scariest things I've ever seen with horses. I suspect teeth is more what caused it in your mare's case, and I would have those dealt with before much more time elapses. 

At this point in her recovery, I would feed wet beet pulp as a slurry and not much else. If she's not hungry right now, I wouldn't worry, my vet has had me withhold food until the next day when I've a a choke. 

While she's recovering, I would be switching her over to a Senior feed. First meal, nothing but soaked beet pulp, 2nd meal, wet beet pulp and maybe 1/2 lb of soaked senior with the beet pulp and I'd work my way up to the recommended amount of Senior and at least until her teeth are done, I'd keep it wet. 

She's at the age where she's not going to be chewing as well as when she was young and she's also getting up to the age where she needs more easily digestible feed because the older horses just can't absorb their nutrition as well from their feed as younger horses. I'd keep her on bute or banamine if you have some in paste or liquid form, for just another day or 2. She should be fine after that. I'm sure she'll cough for a couple of days, as long as theirs nothing coming out her nose or she's not choking again, she's just got a scratchy throat. Be on the lookout for another choke, if it's happened once, it very well could happen again, especially if her teeth don't get attention and if they were the reason.


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## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

I agree, have her teeth done and just start watering down her feed, that will slow her down and make it easier to go down


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I used to have an elderly mare that would choke. I liked to add corn oil to her feed for a few days after an episode to help lubricate her throat. After she had a few days to heal then it would be back to just watering down her feed.


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## ArabLover98 (Aug 9, 2012)

Thank you for the helpful tips, everyone! The vet cleared her to graze in ten minute intervals. She's had about half of her normal grain serving today, and ate it all with gusto! She'll get the other half in a few hours here. I'm planning on continuing the mash for a while, and I think I'll try the corn oil idea!

As far as soaking hay, I would like to try this for the first week or so that she's back on it. (She should begin to be able to have it by at least Friday). I don't have a hay soaker, so is there anyway to DIY this? I'm completely inexperienced in terms of soaking hay. :/ She is on coastal square bales.


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## ArabLover98 (Aug 9, 2012)

Oh, and she is currently on Purina Senior. I will definitely be getting those teeth looked at!


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## evilamc (Sep 22, 2011)

If you have an extra trough just soak it in there with some water and she can eat it out of that lol!


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## mslady254 (May 21, 2013)

My vet told me to always soak any grain,pellets,etc. Which u already know. She also said once a horse has had a choke event , they are prone to it . But soaking all man made products can greatly reduce the risk. She says that he ,"won't choke on gras or hay" but that probably wouldn't be true for one with teeth issues. He's only had one episode since I started soakimg and I was in a hurry and didn't let it soak long enough.Never again! Sonny is a gulper but he doesn't bolt it down when it is soaked. 
She also said to let him stand still (my instinct was to keep him moving) with his head low,massage his throat, and stick my finger in his ear every little while to cause him to shake his head. These things might help clear the blockage while waiting for the vet or if u can't get in touch with one while it's happening. She didn't restrick his diet or eating (other than the soaking) after she tubed him but I don't think she sedated him or not very much sedation. I wasn't there as a friend had fed him and got the vet.

Fay


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## Tnavas (Nov 29, 2011)

ArabLover98 said:


> Grain was what was stopping her up - the vet flushed a huge chunk of it out. She has been on this feed for a while now, and it hasn't caused any problems. This is the first time she's ever choked, since I've had her (coming up on 7 years). I think maybe it was just bolting it with the combination of her teeth, perhaps? She's in her mid-late twenties and it _has _been a while since her teeth were floating. So as soon as she recovers, I'll be checking into that.
> 
> As far as short term...her procedure was done around five hours ago. I just made her some mash and she seemed completely dis-interested. I realize she probably has a bunch of fluid in there from all that flushing as well as the combination of just being sick, but what would be a normal time frame for her appetite to return? She normally never turns down a meal. In other words, at what point should I be worried about her lack of appetite?


Sounds like she is not fully over the choke - there may be food still making its way down. Usually recovery is quite dramatic - totally out of it one minute, dripping saliva and making strange noises to "Whats for tea mum? I'm starving" 

Not sure if you are already doing so but make sure all your feeds are damped thoroughly before feeding. Adding chaff/chop or sugarbeet to the feed will open up the grain mixture and also slow the horse down when eating as they have to chew before swallowing.

If your horse is inclined to gobble her feed sown fast add a brick or some large smooth pebbles to her feed bin - its harder for them to grab big mouthfuls.

Definitely have her teeth checked as sharp teeth will often prevent a horse from chewing properly.


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## ArabLover98 (Aug 9, 2012)

Her appetite seems completely normal now. I've been making her a wet mash and monitoring her while she's eating it, but I've heard that feeding off the ground (not literally on the ground, like bucket on the ground) can help with choke prone horses...does this sound like it could help? I'm doing everything I can to avoid another choke episode like that! I plan on getting her a wider bucket so that the feed can spread out a little more. 

At this point, my biggest problem is just her being hungry.  She's getting her normal feed amount split into four feedings throughout the day just to stretch her through, and then she gets 10 minute grazing intervals but I'm just worried this isn't enough. Yesterday she grazed about a total of maybe 40 minutes, but that was with huge breaks in between. She is stalled overnight; I did her last grazing interval at around 8:30 last night and then put her up. She's had breakfast this morning and has been out to graze for her first 10 minutes. Should I be restricting her even more, or can I start letting her graze more often? The grass in her pasture is very short. Her procedure was done Sunday afternoon. I know it hasn't been long, I just don't want her to be going hungry and as she's older, I'm a little worried about that much weight dropping off. 
Thank you all so much for your help!


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## Tnavas (Nov 29, 2011)

Once she is interested in feed she can go back to normal - just ensure that her feeds are damped and she can't grab big mouthfuls. 

If you get a wider bucket then you will need to put in rocks to slow her down. Definitely get her teeth checked ASAP


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## TamandNickP (Mar 14, 2015)

Hi, Sorry to hear about your horse choking. It's pretty traumatic to witness. My old gelding (now deceased) choked when he was in his late 20's. The vet gave him a sedative and muscle relaxer along with something for pain I think. When he finally cleared the blockage (about 18 hours later, the vet said that from the size of the blockage and where it was, he was afraid to tube him because he was afraid that he might rupture his esophagus) he told us to give him penicillin injections in case he had a tear or aspirated anything. 

We always had his teeth regularly floated and he still choked. We were feeding him Equine Senior at the time, we also had large rocks in his feed tub on top of the feed to slow down his eating. He was a starvation rescue long before I got him, and could never seem to get enough to eat and ate like it was going to be the last meal that he would ever get. 

We started feeding him a slurry of pelleted Purina feed with soaked alfalfa cubes after that. We soaked the hay cubes in hot water. It seemed to make the hay absorb more water and they broke down faster. I also physically (with my hands) felt through all of the soaked cubes and broke down any that refused to soften. The hard shiny ones were the worst! After the cubes softened, I added more cold water to make it more like a mash. My old man loved that. It was so funny to hear his lips slapping and all the slurping noises he would make while he ate. He never choked again after we changed how we fed him. I think that after you have your horse's teeth looked after, and change how you feed (making everything mushy and extra wet) your horse will be fine. My old man lived to be 34. 

I wish I had a way to scan the pics I have of him in his 30's so I could share him with everyone. He didn't look a day over 20. Well, except for his saggy middle. 
I miss him very much. :-(


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