35
September 2017 THE HORSE TheHorse.com
NUTRITION
KRISTEN JANICKI, MS
TheHorse.com/Nutrition
D
erby, your 15-year-old Thorough-
bred, hasn't finished his grain. A
greenish nasal discharge and a
large amount of saliva stream from his
mouth. He also keeps extending his neck
and coughing repeatedly, as if he's trying
to clear his throat. What's going on here?
Choke, or esophageal obstruction, oc-
curs when food or foreign materials par-
tially or completely block the esophagus.
Choke might not be immediately life-
threatening—he can still breathe—but it
is distressing, will prevent your horse or
pony from eating and drinking, and must
be addressed by a veterinarian as soon
as possible. In fact, many horses that
have choked need to be on antibiotics to
prevent or treat aspiration pneumonia,
which can be deadly.
In this article, we will discuss which
equid groups are at the highest risk for
developing feed-related choke and sug-
gest mealtime management techniques
to help reduce those risks.
Causes of Choke
Esophageal obstruction occurs most
commonly in horses and ponies that
consume feed (forage or grain) very
quickly without adequate mastication
(chewing). In a 2010 article published in
the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medi-
cine, Chiavaccini and Hassel reported
that causes of esophageal obstruction in
horses include:
■ Ingesting inadequately soaked sugar
beet pulp;
■ Ingesting apples or carrots;
■ Rapidly ingesting dry fibrous, pelleted,
or cubed feedstuffs;
■ Inadequately masticating due to poor
dentition; or
■ Swallowing a foreign object.
Other reported causes include con-
suming grain or hay while under heavy
sedation and not drinking enough water.
Feeding Choke-Prone Horses
DUSTY
PERIN
To prevent esophageal obstruction, take a page from the scientific journals
Soak feeds prior to
mealtime to help slow
consumption and prevent
obstruction.
