Often when we say a horse is choking people conjure up visions of a horse with feed stuck in his windpipe and not being able to breath, similar to people. Fortunately for horses it is not such a dire situation, but it is still something that needs to be treated.
Choke in a horse is when feed gets lodged in the esophagus. Signs can be subtle or dramatic depending on the horse and how much feed is lodged, and include appearing to gag or retch, coughing, feed and saliva coming out of the nostrils, trying to eat or drink but not actually swallowing, and a mass on the left side of the neck near the jugular vein (that would be the actual feed in the esophagus).
Horses can choke for a variety of reasons. It can occur if they have dental problems, try to eat their feed too quickly, if the feed is too dry or coarse. Sometimes a horse will try to swallow a large piece of a carrot or apple, or even wood, and that will become lodged.
If the choke is mild many horses will resolve it on their own within 15-30min. If you notice a horse acting like it has choke the best thing is to remove all feed for a period of time. If the choke does not resolve in a short period of time a veterinarian should be called.
To resolve the choke the horse is sedated to relax both the esophagus and the horse, and a stomach tube is passed. Sometimes the obstruction can be pushed into the stomach. If it is lodged too tightly the esophagus is gently lavaged with water to try to break apart the obstruction and also increase lubrication. This process can take anywhere for 10min to a few hours depending on the severity of the obstruction. Afterwards feed is withheld for about 12 hours to allow the esophagus to rest, and then soft feed is fed for a few days. The most common complication after choke is a respiratory infection due to aspiration of feed so the horse is treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.
Occasionally if the choke cannot be resolved with the stomach tube, endoscopy (passing a long camera into the esophagus) is needed to visualize the obstruction. It can also help to see if there is any severe damage to the esophagus.
So if you notice your horse acting like there is "something stuck in its throat", it could be a case of choke.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!
