Throat obstruction
Throat obstruction is a life-threatening condition in which foreign objects, e.g. B. Food particles get stuck in the throat of an animal. The muscles of the esophagus cramp up and the foreign body can no longer be swallowed. Congestion blockages are common in horses and cattle .
Throat obstruction in equidae
In horses, food can block the esophagus . Larger objects can often still be felt in the neck area or even perceived optically (e.g. whole apples). As a rule, throat blockage occurs in hastily eating horses. A common cause is the feeding of unsoaked sugar beet pulp or finely chopped fruit and vegetables (e.g. apples and carrots). Carrots that are not cut lengthways, but into slices, also often cause throat blockages, as the carrot slices can get across the esophagus and block it completely. Pellet feeding(Corn cubes, grass cubes, etc.) can also lead to a clogging of the throat in hastily eating horses. As a rule, throat blockage does not occur through hay or grass, but horses also suffer throat blockages in the pasture, possibly also through grass.
As a result of a clogged throat in horses, a lot of saliva forms, which, together with food residues, enters the windpipe in a frothy form via the mouth and nose and can subsequently cause pneumonia.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a blocked throat are strong coughing, salivating, scratching, hitting the head, panic outbreak (provided that the circulation is not too damaged). In the process, foamy saliva, often mixed with food residues, comes out of the nose and mouth. The horse keeps its head very low and after prolonged blockage of the throat will develop circulatory problems and always increase the breathing rate (mostly the airways are swollen or blocked with saliva). Increased sweating can also be observed.
treatment
Throat blockages can under certain circumstances resolve by themselves, it is rarely possible to massage away the blocked food, a vet should always be called. A massage is of course excluded if the blockage is not in the throat.
The vet will usually inject an antispasmodic (for the esophagus), mostly a circulatory stabilizer. If necessary, the windpipe is sucked free, then an attempt is made to free the esophagus again with irrigation or to flush the stopper into the stomach. Mild cases can also be solved by massaging the foreign body down towards the stomach. After the treatment, antibiotics against infection (pneumonia) are usually injected routinely through aspirated food.
After the elimination, horses should only be fed with pulpy feed or mash for a few days - if there is a subsequent infection up to a week . In the event of complications, expectorants are often prescribed to be added to the feed.
See also
Web links
- Throat blockage at meinkrankespferd.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Kristin Popp: Keeping horses healthy: The Vet Book . BoD - Books on Demand, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8334-7282-4 , p. 113–.