4 month filly chokes

tammysinnett · Postby **tammysinnett** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:28 am

Last evening we brought the babies and their mommies in to the barn to feed and bed down. I always do a check to make sure no injuries from playtime in the field. I noticed our 4 month filly standing at the food dish not eating just standing with a glazed look.(unusual) I walked in and when I started to stroke her neck I noticed she was very tight and started to jerk like she was sick. She backed into the back of the stall and the first thing I thought she was choking...I grabbed her and stuck my hand in her mouth no obstruction that I could feel. She continued her behavior and then started to vomit through her nose and mouth very foamy and thick like mucous ....did she have a cold? did she get into white clover ? I cleared her nose and mouth cavities and again checked for any obstruction with my hand. She continued to vomit through her nose mostly......we called the vet....I continued to massage her throat and clear her mouth and nose.....by the time the vet answered our call about an hour...she had stopped vomiting and was starting to try to nurse. He did a thorough check, no fever- lung and throat sounds good gave her a little grain and she was able to eat.....he told me she choked for sure, and usually it takes a tube to get things back to normal. He told me what I had done had kept her from needing that procedure. She was ok. I told him when I was panicking and my nursing adrenaline started to kick in I wondered how I was going to do the Hymlick(sp) and he chuckled. Hope this little story helps someone out if it ever happens to them...still cost me 100....but at least I know she is good to go.

Laurierace · Postby **Laurierace** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:59 am

Sorry for your scare, but FYI horses can not vomit. I hope all is well now.

tammysinnett · Postby **tammysinnett** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:08 pm

thankyou for letting me know they cannot vomit....what do they do ????she actually was heaving? I am only a nurse and not a vet so could you explain?? thankyou

Laurierace · Postby **Laurierace** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:02 pm

The closest term that I can think of to describe it would be reflux, not sure if that is the correct medical word for it or not though. The throat was blocked so she was attempting to clear it but in the meantime the saliva etc that she was still producing had to go somewhere so it came out her nose and/or mouth. You instinctively did the right thing by attempting to massage it the rest of the way down her throat. If your vet was there they would have started with a sedative and an anti inflamatory most likely ace and banamine to see if that relaxed things enough for it to pass and if not then they would have tried using a tube with water to push it the rest of the way down.
I imagine your vet told you this but just in case they didn't, a horse is prone to another choking episode in the days following a choke because the throat is swollen to some extent. If this was an adult horse they would likely suggest chopped hay and mash made out of their regular ration for a few days. I am not sure what they recommend for a foal, maybe withhold all grain? Not sure on that one.
Not saying God makes mistakes, but I sure can't understand why he made the equine stomach a one way street. That is why things like moldy hay and getting into the feed room and gorging themselves are such an emergency. Once its in there the only way out is through the back end.
Again, best of luck to you both.

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:15 pm

What laurierace said. You can help a bit, maybe, by mixing corn oil or something greasy like that with her feed for awhile. At my place she'd be up in the barn and watched like a hawk for a bit.

tammysinnett · Postby **tammysinnett** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:52 pm

No our vet told me nothing --it was an emergency vet for our other vet was on vacation.......I have been checking her eating but now I will check her more carefully and take in some of your suggestions thankyou sooo much. It really put a scare into me.

Mood Swings · Postby **Mood Swings** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:26 am

Did she choke on a pelleted grain? I would add warm water to the feed for a few days to make it mushy (not necessarily appetizing at first but it will prevent her from choking again). In some cases their throat will become inflamed and sore and can make them more susceptible to choke again. Choking can damage their throat enough so as to cause scar tissue (this is likely to happen if your horse chokes multiple times). It is scary to watch but usually with a little banamine for pain relief and throat massaging the blockage will pass within half an hour.

When horse choke they tend to panic, however they are still able to breath as the choke occurs in their esophagus - not their windpipe.

Some horses are notorious for gorging themselves on their grain, these horses usually need to have their grain soaked or large round stones placed in their buckets to slow them down. I hope she is feeling better

tammysinnett · Postby **tammysinnett** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:07 pm

Thankyou very much for suggestions and knowledge on this subject. It seems I have learned so much from everyone here on several occasions Thankyou

LKR · Postby **LKR** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 5:14 am

We had an 8 month old filly choke 3 years ago. We took her to the vet hospital and they tubed it through. We brought her home. She was fine for a week and choked a second time. They tubed it through. We put her on a gruel mix but 3 weeks later she choked and we had her euthanized.
I believe the second and certainly the 3rd incident was caused from some sort of stricture, probably scar tissue. We spent over $4000.00 before we gave up. That was our first and to date only horse to have that happen. The vet hospital said they had never seen one that young with a choke. Good luck with your filly.

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