HELP! My stallion quids all his food.

[JFNM miniatures]

Hello everyone,
Yesterday evening, my stallion started, out of nowhere to quid all his hay. In fact, he will chew it normally, and when he tries swallowing, he doesn't seem to be able. He just spits it all out.
I called my vet who told me it was unlikely to be a dental problem... besides which, his teeth were done this spring, and I checked to be sure... but it doesn't look like a dental problem, or an abscess.
I'm thinking there's something stuck in his throat... And that's what the vet was thinking.

She told me to lightly flush his mouth with water, which I did yesterday... and it seemed to have helped, he was able to eat normally when I went back to the house.

But this morning, I found he had not eaten all his hay, and did the same thing again... except this time, he coughs every time he tries to swallow.

I did take his temperature, and there is no fever. And, he seems to be able to drink for now. Whew.

Any advice ? Thoughts? I'm going to call my vet again today.

 

[Jill]

I understand the vet does not believe it to be a dental issue, but I have seen equine dentists do a much better job than a lot of vets at floating. If you have access to an equine dentist, I would give that person a call. Good luck!

 

[JFNM miniatures]

I understand the vet does not believe it to be a dental issue, but I have seen equine dentists do a much better job than a lot of vets at floating. If you have access to an equine dentist, I would give that person a call. Good luck!

Thank you for your answer!
Problem is there are no equine dentists in Canada... well at least in the province where I live. All vets here are trained to be both equine dentists and vets, and she is excellent at dental work... So I do trust her judgement. I've had another horse (very old) who used to quid his hay because of dental issues... but this is not the same. Jumper clearly chews it nicely, and then tries swallowing, but coughs it back out of his mouth. I heard him do groaning sounds as well... which clearly mean something's stuck.

She'll be here ASAP today to see him, in the meantime, she told me to put him to stall rest, which I've done.

 

[Cayuse]

Let us know how it goes, fingers are crossed that he'll be OK.

 

[JFNM miniatures]

Hi everyone,
Vet came by and there was something stuck, but the vet easily flushed it down. His throat is irritated even if it was a light blockage, so he is on banamine for 5 days, and she told me to give him glycerine to ease his throat. His teeth were perfect, no mouth sores, no abscesses. Oh, and she also gave him something for his throat to relax (I don't remember the name).

I gave him a small portion of soft soaked hay once he was off the sedation med... and he is eating normally, NO quidding... at least for now. I'm supposed to keep a sharp eye on him and report any develop to the vet, but at least, he seems fine for now.

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Glad you have solved that mystery. You made a good call with feeding him the soft soaked hay. I would continue that while his throat is mending.

 

[Taz]

Glad he's better. I'd also keep an eye on how he sounds when he breathes. If you hear ANY wheezing call your vet back, they can asperate when they choke and it's bad news but if he's fine the first couple days after he probably didn't.