# Horse choke pass on its own??



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

They can manage to swallow something they're choking on but if that green slime is coming down her nose then there's a good chance she's inhaled some of it into her lungs which creates an infection risk - a lot of vets will give antibiotics to a choking horse to try to reduce that possibility
I would want him to come out if it was my horse and green slime was still coming from somewhere just to be sure the obstruction was gone and nothing had happened (injury etc) to make it difficult for the horse to swallow
She'd probably be best kept away from food until she was back to normal just in case she does still have a blockage


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

When my horse choked the farrier was there and he said that normally what you do is give it about 30 minutes if the horse is calm. Some horse will freak out a little. I got on the forum and posted and got the "Call the vet you idiot" messages so I immediately called the vet, who said, give it 30 minutes and call us back. So after I waited the 30 minutes and it didn't seem to be better so I called the vet. They had to tube him, much like with a colic and because it was a hay cube and in their good we made a bloody mess getting him tubed. The vet said that was a bad case and that normally it works itself out....


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## JRoyalimage (Aug 21, 2015)

jaydee said:


> They can manage to swallow something they're choking on but if that green slime is coming down her nose then there's a good chance she's inhaled some of it into her lungs which creates an infection risk - a lot of vets will give antibiotics to a choking horse to try to reduce that possibility
> I would want him to come out if it was my horse and green slime was still coming from somewhere just to be sure the obstruction was gone and nothing had happened (injury etc) to make it difficult for the horse to swallow
> She'd probably be best kept away from food until she was back to normal just in case she does still have a blockage


Thanks! The earliest he can come out is tomorrow. So we'll have to wait till then. When I was watching her, it didn't look like any of the slim was coming from her nose. She seemed to only be coughing and then flinging it everywhere (which was really gross)


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## JRoyalimage (Aug 21, 2015)

farmpony84 said:


> When my horse choked the farrier was there and he said that normally what you do is give it about 30 minutes if the horse is calm. Some horse will freak out a little. I got on the forum and posted and got the "Call the vet you idiot" messages so I immediately called the vet, who said, give it 30 minutes and call us back. So after I waited the 30 minutes and it didn't seem to be better so I called the vet. They had to tube him, much like with a colic and because it was a hay cube and in their good we made a bloody mess getting him tubed. The vet said that was a bad case and that normally it works itself out....


How much did it cost to get him back to normal? Was it expensive?


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Emergency vet call for a choke, this was about 7 or 8 years ago though, was $250. Daughter's old horse was let out in the yard as her new horse was in the paddock, the new horse's previous owner left her feed, instead of putting it in the feed freezer, she left in the breezeway of the barn and left. Her b/f was out digging postholes for the new paddock, sort of monitoring. I come home from work, he tells me something is wrong with Clip, he is foaming through his nose. I look at him, right away I know he is choking, badly! Vet was out quick, while he was tubing him, he said it's beet pulp. What?? I don't even have any beet pulp on the place, my daughter, who came back, put her hand over her mouth, then says, OH NO, I forgot to put that stuff away! Horse ate a small rubbermaid container of it, dry! Horse was fine, back to normal the next day, no side effects.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

It was costly. The farm visit for my vet is $75 because they aren't close and then there was the drug fee, exam fee, etc. I would guess it was around $360. Seems like that is what my emergency calls end up costing me these days!


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## JRoyalimage (Aug 21, 2015)

Ok so I went back out to check on her and she seemed fine. No more green nasty stuff and she was moving around and being bossy as usual lol. I'm gonna have the vet come out anyway just to make sure she's ok. 
She's not a fast water which really confused me. I was told to get her a grazing muzzle for the couple of hours a day she is out on pasture. But how long should I wait to feed her. Can she drink water?


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Well, the above mentioned horse wasn't allowed food or water until the morning & the vet left at about 6 pm at night. However this was a severe choke and he was tubed. BUT my horse who was out in the yard with him and showed no signs of choke and we are not even sure he ate any of the beet pulp was on the same restriction just in case he ate some.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Glad your horse is doing better and think it's good to have the vet out just to be safe.

Just wanted to add that I've seen banamine fix a mild choke. I actually gave it orally, thought it was interesting. I would definitely call the vet though, but just wanted to add that as an interesting side note! I've dealt with plenty of extremely minor chokes and usually just taking food away is enough, but I'm talking "coughing while eating" chokes, not "foaming a the mouth" chokes. The gelding I used the banamine on was almost acting colicky but I knew it was a choke, so mild but more than the "usual".

Definitely something I'll keep in the back of my head, it makes sense!


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## tinaev (Dec 2, 2012)

When my horse choked I didn't even realize "choke" was a thing, I'd never heard of it. I had given him a bite of carrot and realized several minutes later that he kept scrunching up his neck under his jaw. I watched for a few minutes before I realized that he was trying to swallow something. I tried to get him to drink and he wouldn't. I watched him and about 20 minutes into it slime and carrot pieces started coming out of his nose. I freaked out but within minutes of that he started grazing and snapped out of his lethargy. He was totally fine from that point on.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I used to have an old mare that choked frequently on her feed. I'd give her a shot of banamine to help her relax and then do firm, downward only strokes on her throat. I knew it had passed when she got interested in her feed pan again. One time she choked on hay and that required a vets intervention. It's been too many years to remember how much it cost. So yes they can pass a choke on their own but it's also necessary to know when it's time to call the vet. I could normally get that mare through an episode in about 20 minutes but if she wasn't back to normal by then I called for help.


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