Harrisburg, South Dakota
Excellence in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery since 1981!
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Harrisburg, South Dakota Excellence in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery since 1981! |
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Choke When something gets caught in a horse’s esophagus (the tube from the mouth to the stomach), we call it choke. Choke in horses usually involves food materials, rarely foreign objects. Horses that are choked are restless, make frequent attempts to swallow and discharge a frothy saliva from the mouth and nostrils which may contain food particles. The color of the discharge will usually be that of the color of the food, green for pellets or hay and whitish yellow for oats and grain. They may shake their head up and down and/or go through a wretching motion. If the horse has been choked for a long period of time, one day or more, he will start to be depressed and lose weight rapidly from fluid loss and the inability to drink. The horse may also have problems breathing by this time from aspiration pneumonia which is not an uncommon problem secondary to choke. If you find or think your horse is choked, call your veterinarian immediately. Usually the choke can be cleared by passing a stomach tube to the obstruction and flushing the food material away. Extreme care must be taken to make sure the horse doesn’t aspirate any of the fluid. The horse must be heavily tranquilized or anesthetized to assure this. If the esophagus mass does not clear, we will pass a flexible fiberoptic scope into the esophagus and visualize the mass so we know what we are dealing with. As a last resort, surgery may have to be performed if the obstruction does not clear. Once the obstruction is passed, we’ll start the horse on broad spectrum antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Food will be withheld for 24 to 72 hours depending on the condition of the esophagus. Fresh water with electrolytes should be provided. Once food is again allowed, a soft gruel feed will be offered in small quantities several times daily. Other complications which can follow choke are: rupture of the esophagus (this is the reason the tube is not forced into the obstruction); re-obstruction from scarring of the esophagus, an esophageal diverticulum, or other primary or secondary esophageal problem (example: tumor, abscess, or neurological problem). These conditions, should they exist, will need to be further evaluated via x-rays and endoscopically (passing a flexible scope to visualize the area of concern.) In order to minimize the occurrence or reoccurrence of esophageal obstruction, all identifiable predisposing factors must be corrected. Basic management involves providing high-quality hay, proper dental care, and free choice fresh water. A horse that eats rapidly because of competition for food should be fed separately. The old time treatment to prevent a horse from eating too fast is to place several large rocks in the feed pan. If a horse is heavily sedated, he should be tied with his head high, or the feed and bedding should be removed or the patient should be muzzled to prevent eating; swallowing is not coordinated in heavily sedated horses. |
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