PLEASE ONLY SERIOUS ANSWERS, , should i call out the vet or not?

Question

I have a very large grey QH gelding and he is having a few problems.

The first problem is that he coughs when he eats solid foods like apples and carrots and sometimes when he eats feed. He sounds like he is choking but then he acts like he is ok. My mom said that it looks like he has an old neck injury because he has a small indention in the side of his neck almost on the underside.

The second problem is that he has bad gas when he is being handled. If he is out in the pasture he never has it but when you catch him or saddle him up he gets it. Are there any supplements or feeds or something i can give him for this?

P.S. I feed him 11% All Grain and he is a very healthy looking large horse, about 1300lbs.

please help, ONLY SERIOUS ANSWERS

Answer 1

yeah i would get the vet, especially about the cough. it will put your mind at rest too

Answer 2

if youre not sure, call the vet. the coughing, you should definitely call, if he is older and farting, its not a big deal. he probably has alot of fiber in his diet, which is very good.

Answer 3

Vet,

  I lost my boy due to something the vet called Choke.  He swallowed food and it got stuck in his esophagus between the trachea and the stomach.  And he couldnt move it either up or down.  It had to be removed by using 40 gallons of water and a hose to litterally flush it from him.  

He would cough sometimes when he ate apples or large chunky foods, and we just assumed he was gulping them, so things got cut smaller and the coughing stoped.

He choked 2 times,  he was euthanized 1 month after the last time because he never recovered.  The vet scoped him and found nothing, the only explination was " some horses do this".. really not very satisfying.

Answer 4

I would definitely check with your vet about the coughing. He may have some blockage in there, maybe just some scar tissue, but possibly a tumor. It's better to be safe then sorry. Not sure I can help you with the gas thing, but there is a product called Neigh-lox that is like Maalox for horses. That might help him.

Answer 5

yes.

call the vet.

Answer 6

Any horse can choke on chunks of food like carrots or apples...yours may just be more susceptible for whatever reason.  If you are going to feed these treats, they should be shaved into small, thin sections that won't get stuck going down.

How would you know whether or not he has gas when he is out in the pasture?  Unless he's wearing a bugging device, or a gas detector, I wouldn't think you'd know?

If all else is normal, and he hasn't ever colicked, I'd just be more careful about feeding him anything that might choke him, and be sure he has access to plenty of fresh water 24/7.

Answer 7

it can't hurt to have the vet look at him...as for the indent my horse has something that sounds EXACTLY like that. it doesn't bother her. i thought it might just be birth mark. like maybe she had her back foot pressing on that spot b4 she was born

Answer 8

You did not say how old your horse was.  Older horses sometimes are more gasier.  Anyway, yes I think I would have a vet check his teeth just to be sure he is able to chew his grain and hay adequately.

Answer 9

call the vet

Answer 10

I would watch it but I dont think it is an emergency. As for the indent. Is it around the size of a thumb print and indented into the muscle? If it is then I doubtit is an old injury. Lots of horses I know have them and we call them (what do ya know) Thumbprints.

Answer 11

For the coughing you may want to talk to your horse dentist AND your vet his teeth might need floating. For the gas it's probably because he's ''older'' I have a 23 year old QH mare and she puffs up when you cinch her and lets it out through gas  and it smells BAD! i hope this helps any.

Answer 12

First of all, if you don't know for sure, the answer is always to call the vet, even for just a consult.  If you have established yourself as a good client, a good vet will tell you if a farm call is necessary.

It is very possible that he could have something causing a choke, unrelated to any old injury.  And secondly, please consider that since it's unlikely that you're within f**t hearing range constantly when he's in the field, you don't really know whether he does it during exercize at liberty, too.

Since he is grey, you can't dismiss the risk of sarcoids.

Were I in your situation with your horse, with my relationship with the vets and unlimited verbal access to them and their expertise, my decision would be to have the vet out.