# Please dont feed dry Pony Nuts



## Gingerwitch (16 April 2011)

I have just spent a horrific few hours, trying to relive the suffering of a poor horse that was choking on pony nuts - the vet arrived after about 3/4 of an hour, but i have never felt so helpless in all my career with horses.  Poor animal ended up with a tube up his nose and it took 30 mins to clear the blockage.  My hands are covered in bruises as I was trying to stop the poor animal from smashing his head up the wall, whilst we were waiting for the vet - now colic i can deal with - but choke... another ball game

Any vets on here please could you do a "what to do in the event of serious choke and more importantly what NOT to do" 

It has really really upset me and I will never feed pony nuts to anything ever again


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## cptrayes (16 April 2011)

I'm sorry your horse choked, but they choke on all sorts of things. I've even heard of one found choking in the field, on grass. I have been feeding pony nuts for 25 years to multiple horses and never had an issue with them.

I hope your boy is all right now.


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## quirky (16 April 2011)

In all my years around horses, I have only seen choke once and that was from haylage.

It's a bit like saying don't cross the road because John Doe got killed there 5 years ago.

I'm sorry you had a scary time, being helpless in a situation is just the worst thing .
Hope pony is feeling happier soon, it must be terrifying for them too.


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## Sanolly (16 April 2011)

I can't feed them wet as my fussy mare won't eat a wet feed! Hope your pony gets better x


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## appylass (16 April 2011)

This has happened to a horse I know too. I never feed pony nuts dry now, not even a small handful. It is so distressing to the horse and horrid to watch, we were lucky and it cleared by itself before vet arrived. I know exactly how you feel, horrible experience.


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## Derfette (16 April 2011)

I feel for you!! My boy has suffered choke on a couple of occations. One of them, after trying to eat a big piece of haylage, resulted in a bout of spasmodic colic! But thankfully he eventually choughed the haylage out again, so I know exactly how you're feeling! Hope your boy gets better very soon


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## JadeyyAndLadyy (16 April 2011)

The only time i saw a horse with choke was from sugabeet. She broke into the feed room and knocked over the DRY sugabeet and ate it, which expanded in her throat and she choked. Vet out, cleared the blockage but it caused perminant damage and she chocked everytime she ate so had to be PTS in the end  It is utterly terrifying seeing a horse choke i just remember feeling helpless because i couldnt do anything to help


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## The Fuzzy Furry (16 April 2011)

1 thing you CAN try with a horse with choke is to run him  round in-hand briskly for a few mins. In many cases this can resolve this, BUT this is NOT something you do instead of calling a vet - just do it whilst waiting for the vet.
I've done this 2 or 3 times over the years: 3 circuits of fast trot in hand round a small paddock/menage & then stop & rest for 1 min - check for choke sypmtoms. Then repeat once or twice more. (recommended to me to do by PSD back in the early 80's & it worked a treat & as said, have used this method whilst awaiting vet & had good results). Mostly occurred in the 1st instance in piggy ponies bolting hay at the start of winter.
This is for 'usual' feeds & hay, tho NOT necessarily dried feeds which should be soaked like beet or whole barley etc - you must ask your vet in each instance what to do whilst waiting for them.

Never EVER try to 'push' the blockage, you can cause damage. Do not pour anything in either.

Its scarey when it happens, but often a blockage/choke can be resolved whilst the vet is on their way (its usually the owner who needs a muscle relaxant/sedative afterwards tho!)

Caveat: I'm not a vet tho, so this is not official veterinary advice above.


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## Tinseltoes (16 April 2011)

Ive never had a problem with feeding dry nuts either.


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## SonnysHumanSlave (16 April 2011)

My old horse Billy had recurring choke. It was eventually the cause of his death... He choked always on grass.


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## Cobbysmum (16 April 2011)

My youngster had choke a few years ago, while waiting for the vet, my son rang me on my mobile, made the horse jump and cleared the blockage!!  Don't know if it would work every time though!  A friend fed some calm and condition dry by mistake, it turned out to be a very expensive mistake.


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## ColandMe (16 April 2011)

One of my horses had choke twice, from haylage, It was awful, I honestly thought he was dying and there was rivers of slime coming from his nose and mouth. 2nd time it happened I realised why, I'd fed him next to his field and whilst he was eating put the haylage out, he rushed straight over when I put him back and almost inhaled the haylage in his desperate rush to eat. It really, really frightened me so I understand your fears, hope your horse is ok now.


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## fidleyspromise (16 April 2011)

It is very scary and you also feel utterly helpless.
When phoning the vet regarding my youngster who choked on chaff and soaked sugar beet mixed, I was advised to keep an eye on her and if it didn't resolve itself within 30 minutes, then the vet would come but 9/10 times, it would resolve itself.

Pony wandered around the field, head low and groaning and spluttering ever few minutes.  Thankfully this only happened twice - but it is god awful to watch!


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## OneInAMillion (16 April 2011)

We soak ours and last year our pony choked on them...


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## LadyRascasse (16 April 2011)

my mare choked on a handful of hay leftover on the floor, most frightening day of my life, i thought she was going to die. hope your pony gets better soon but they can choke on anything


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## Spring Feather (16 April 2011)

Choke is usually more upsetting for the people than it is for the horse and more often than not it will clear without assistance.  The first aid for horses with choke is to keep the horse quiet with his head lowered while you gently massage the oesophagus (sp) downwards.  Everyone's first time with seeing choke is the same, it's scary!  The more times you see it, the calmer, more relaxed and get down to business you are.


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## spotty_pony (16 April 2011)

I hope your horse gets better soon. I always all of feed my feeds damp anyway but I know plenty of people who do feed pony nuts dry and they have never had any problems. Choke can be caused by anything and is usually a result of a horse not chewing its food properly. I've known horses choke on hay, haylage and even just a carrot.


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## Cedars (16 April 2011)

Puzzle choked on her own hair once (don't ask) and I just kept her calm and talked to her whilst she sorted it out. After a few minutes she was fine and I would have rung the vet if it lasted much longer. 

Would appreciate a 'what to do' though!!


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## a kind of magic (16 April 2011)

Our young mare chokes on anything remotely dry.  We can just about get away with dampened Badminton High Fibre nuggets (they are chunkier so she can't woof them down so much) but anything chaff based is no good.  She doesn't seem to choke on hay/haylage or grass so I suppose we are lucky really but they can choke on anything.


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## brighteyes (16 April 2011)

Choke can be fatal but very, very rarely.  My vet advises walk them round to take their mind off it - the muscle spasms are involuntary but the stress can make them 'feel' worse and it's a viscious circle.  I have been advised to shove a dollop of margerine as far into the mouth as possible by the same vet.  His advice to me, _not_ me to anyone else...


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## quirky (16 April 2011)

Spring Feather said:



			The first aid for horses with choke is to keep the horse quiet with his head lowered while you gently massage the oesophagus (sp) downwards.
		
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SF - can you clarify this?
If the horses head is lowered, I assume when you say downwards, you mean towards the head?


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## depurple1 (16 April 2011)

My previous horse choked on dry pony nuts.  He had to have the vet out to tube him, and the vet said that he had a slight narrowing of his oesophagus and recommended that he never be fed pony nuts again.

Watching him stand there with pony nuts running out of his nose is not an experience I'd like to repeat with any horse.  So I don't feed them as a main feed now (just in a treat ball).  Also I tend to make all feeds very well soaked.


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## Spring Feather (16 April 2011)

quirky said:



			SF - can you clarify this?
If the horses head is lowered, I assume when you say downwards, you mean towards the head?
		
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No sorry, downwards in the direction of food flow ie. towards the chest


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## competitiondiva (16 April 2011)

cptrayes said:



			I'm sorry your horse choked, but they choke on all sorts of things. I've even heard of one found choking in the field, on grass. I have been feeding pony nuts for 25 years to multiple horses and never had an issue with them.

I hope your boy is all right now.
		
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My first horse once choked on hay, after that she choked quite often on hay,ended up having to feed from a small holed net and soak it to restrict the amount she could eat in one mouthful!  I totally agree it's devastating to witness etc, but you cannot say it is because of pony nuts!  Glad the horse is ok though and if in this horses case pony nuts caused it, then yes I would in future not feed this one them.


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## Cash (16 April 2011)

My loan horse choked on his feed of pony nuts last summer- I was alone at the yard in the evening, last person there, I'd never even heard of choke before and I was absolutely terrified!
I rang the YM and then whilst YM was on the way, I walked him round- like someone else said earlier in the thread, mainly to keep him from panicking. It was really really horrible, especially when he would be trying to cough up the food stuck and stuff was streaming from his nose and mouth. 
As it was, he managed to cough it up, and within literally two minutes he was absolutely right as rain again, chirpy and totally normal.
He was always fed sloppy feed such as Fast Fibre after that though.


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## Snowysadude (16 April 2011)

Horses do choke on everything, mine choked once on pony nuts and twice on haylage and nothing helps prevent it!


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## ladyt25 (16 April 2011)

I agree, seeing a horse for the first time choking is not pleasant but now, I don't really get concerned if it is general feed they have done this one - ie something that is going to soak down and get mushy a bit, if you know what I mean. If it was a carrot or something I may be more concerned as feel it won't break down as easily (no idea if there's any logic in that train of thought! Lol)

my pony used to choke a fair bit when I first got him as he bolts his food. He doesn't do it now so much although will do on occasion. I last saw him do it a couple of years ago halfway through eating his dinner which was dampened  (sugar beet etc) and included alfa a as well. He just is very calm and controlled about it though, he goes quiet and turns away from his food and just sort of looks thoughtful but then you see the spasms (I hate these). this particular time it did last a few minutes and after a fair bit of wretching, all this 'gunk' seemed to pour out of his mouth and nose. He then stood there for a bit and then went back to finish his tea as if nothing had happened!

I definitely think it's worse for us watching than it is for them. I always wait until they have stopped wretching and i just remain calm and normally find myself talking to them!

I think they can do it with any food though to be honest.


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## **Vanner** (16 April 2011)

Thankfully I've only had to deal with choke once.  Friends pony choked on a likit!

I soak the nut my boys get but always have.


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## Lexie81 (16 April 2011)

My previous horse choked once on haylage and after that frequently choked on hay or haylege and once on her dampened feed. It was horrid but she was fine after. The last time she did it was the only time the vet actually had to come, as she hadnt cleared it after 40 mins but literally as the vet pulled in to the yard she dislodged it and was right as rain...she just had a painkiller jab and some bute for a few days as she was a little sore. 
A friends young filly choked when i just happened to be walking by her eating her feed-she was petrified and throwing her self down, rolling, shaking...i was covered in cuts and bruises from trying to stop her running at the field gate, in the end i managed to catch her and walk her round and she cleared it herself.

It is very frightening though and although i no longer have that mare i am paranoid about choke with my horses and always dampen their feeds.


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## moody_mare (16 April 2011)

My pony choked on a carrot when i was about 12 & I was down the yard on my own, most terrorfying thing ever. They can choke on anything wet or dry


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## pardalis (16 April 2011)

It is scary. And of course, horses don't have the vomit reflex like we would in that situation. Our stomach and solar plexus would be pushing to get it out. It is right that massaging away from the head is correct as it's physically easier for it to go down.

Horses can indeed choke on anything. Their natural food is anything they can browse, grass  etc. Hard feed and even hay/hayledge can cause a problem.


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## caitlineloise (17 April 2011)

Have to agree with everybody else, lot's of things can cause choke.

Our mare choked on hay (She used to wolf it down despite it being in two small holed hay nets!) Did a massive cough thing after a while and it all came shooting out of her throat/nose, it was disgusting looking, but glad she sorted herself out. It's very scary.

Hope he's feeling better soon


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## TBB (17 April 2011)

I've only seen choke twice TG, the first time was a yearling who choked on a hard piece of beet pulp that was in the soaked pulp and although we knew it was just a freak thing we have never soaked loose beet pulp since, we just soak the beet pulp nuts. The second time was a 3 year old in the field with a group and eating hay we think that she must have swallowed a piece a bit quick when someone had a go at her (she was low down on the pecking order). Both were fine afterwards and they never got it again. We feed dry stud nuts to plenty of them and never had a problem.


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## Rudey (17 April 2011)

Gingerwitch, I hope your horse is recovering well.  You have my sympathy, my horse choked on pony nuts and it was horrifying.

However, it was soaked pony nuts!  I used to wet my feeds down a lot, and what happened was that the pony nuts were that wet, they mushed down, compacted, and formed like a concrete blob. My horse was a greedy boy, and bolted his feed, and choked.

The vet came out 3 times, and couldn't shift it.  In the end he had to be transported to the vets and have a camera down his throat  The vet said that feed manufacturers should put a warning on he bags about over soaking feeds as this, in her experience, was a common cause of choke.

I have known horses choke on hay and carrots.  It seems the greedier horses are prone to it.  One piece of advice the vet gave me was to put a brick in his feed bucket to prevent him over loading his mouth and bolting feed. xx


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## claireandnadia (17 April 2011)

Nadia choked on dry chaff once. Every day I wet it but that day I didn't for some reason.
I didn't know what to do but I just rubbed her throat downwards and it cleared in a couple of minutes although it felt like hours.
I asked the vet after that and she said to walk them round. If it hasn't cleared after 10 minutes to call a vet out.


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