My mule got out and into compressed horse treats and developed choke. Caught it within a couple hours. Vet was here in 45 minutes. Describes as more difficult to resolve. Took about 30 minutes with tube. Started on 2 antibiotics right away. Vet said trachea and lungs sounded good. Been 36 hours so far occurred on 3/4 8 am.
Ok so what i am asking is A) Have you or know someone who experienced choke and did the develop aspiration pneumonia?
More importantly, how long after the initial choke did it take for signs of aspiration pneumonia to develop.
Thank you all for any replies. Of all the articles I read, none really say when or give a window of seeing aspiration pneumonia develop.
It sounds like you had the choke well in hand. Risk will be low. Checking a temp twice daily will give you the best look at it, but really–you resolved the choke quickly and with the mule on antibiotics, it’s exceedingly likely you’ll see anything.
I have a mare who, when young, choked on her evening grain (potentially even earlier in the day) and the barn owners didn’t communicate any concern until the next morning. It was a difficult choke to pass and we nearly sent her to the hospital to pick it apart with a scope. We also used prophylactic antibiotics in her case, but even with 12+ hours choked, and a messy one at that, we managed to avoid pneumonia.
That’s not to say your risk is zero…but it is very low. You’re doing the right things.
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My late elderly horse developed choke a few years ago. His was quite difficult to resolve as well. He was started on antibiotics right away too and I later learned that my vet was almost positive he would develop aspirate pneumonia…but he never did.
Perhaps getting the drugs right away helped, or maybe he was a robust 32 yr. old, I don’t know. But I’m sure your horse would develop symptoms that would send red flags if he were to have it. An older horse at my current barn was euthanized due to AP; he was fine, then went downhill very quickly. No one saw it coming. You’re on the lookout for anything abnormal right now, so if the worst were to happen, you’ll be on top of it.
Good luck. It’s bad enough going through a long choke episode, and now to worry about this is nerve wracking.
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The only case of aspiration pneumonia I’ve seen probably could have been avoided if the owner had sought vet care immediately after the choke. She found the horse choking, but thought he resolved it himself and left him alone. Within 48 hours he spiked a fever and was in a really bad way. It took heavy duty antibiotics, fluids, and weeks of rest for him to recuperate.
I have a chronic choker myself - we’ve been able to reduce the risk by changing his feed but a choke is always a vet call for me. Better safe than sorry. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things! I would continue to keep an eye on his temperature but I would say 72 hours is probably a fair window?
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My hinny choked on timothy pellets in 2014. When it didn’t resolve in 20 minutes, I called the vet; he got it cleared in 10 minutes. About 3 days later, hinny developed a nasty “wet” cough, so went on SMZs. He was fine by the end of the RX, and never had another choke or any later problems from it except he would not eat timothy pellets until last fall.
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Thank you all so far for the replies. We all love our animals and I think when you don’t have children, which I don’t, it is even harder. Hopefully I will get some more "case studies:. Thank you all so much and you can see my mules on FB, Michael Bradley and my profile pic is of deer in my pasture. I will update his progress in a few days. He also developed a nose bleed during the tubing and we were covered in blood from head to toe.
The only thing I’ll add is that for several days after one episode of choke your mule or horse will be more likely to suffer another bout, because of the inflammation caused by the initial choke.
My previous horse (who at the time was 8 or 9) choked on hay; by the time the vet had arrived the choke had cleared, although the episode had looked very bad. That vet basically did nothing, patted the horse and charged me a farm call. When the horse choked again the next day (also on hay), I called a different vet. That vet did a full work-up, floated my horse’s teeth, gave her a shot of antibiotics, and gave me a couple of tubes of banamine to reduce the inflammation in the esophagus. I also only fed the horse from a feeder on the ground, and for the next two months or so, her grain and her hay was thoroughly wetted down.
It’s good that you’re giving the mule antibiotics, but you might want to ask the vet about giving him a daily dose of banamine for the next couple of days as well. And you might also take precautions with whatever grain the mule’s eating.
My late gelding was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia a couple years ago. We did not see him choke, but the vet estimated that he must have 2-3 days before developing symptoms ( a cough during exertion, fever, nasal discharge, lethargy, etc.). He was 31 at the time and was on a mash diet, but we gave him the sweepings of the alfalfa hay (mostly leaves and small stems). We think that was the culprit. Although he recovered, it did knock him down a peg and he was never 100% the last year of his life. I am glad your vet was proactive about getting your mule on antibiotics right away. This will be my protocol in the future, as I have seen horses die from AP after chocking.
Can someone explain this to me? I thought in a normal horse, the trachea doesn’t open into the mouth and that is why they can’t breathe through their mouths. So how does choke lead to aspiration pneumonia?
They can’t swallow. A ton of spit and feed stuff backs up and pours out of the nose and mouth. From there, it’s quite easy to inhale. Lots of articles if you Google, and probably video, too. Consider yourself lucky that you’ve not ever dealt with it!
My mare choked back in November. Her choke was the direct result of a really poor decision made by the person feeding her but the plus side is that it was instantly identified at the vet was there within the hour. It took a bit to resolve and she was put on SMZs. Frustratingly, she had to ship the next day for a pretty significant journey so I was on pins and needles about AP. My vet said that the biggest thing is to go slowly with reintroducing food and really soak it well to reduce any irritation and potential for coughing. She recovered with no lasting issues but we soaked her hay for two weeks afterward as a precaution.
I hope your guy is doing better. One of the ponies at the barn I feed at choked last night. Other worker said she was fine e yesterday morning, and she choked on ration balancer pellets. Vet came out, it was difficult to remove and she started having labored breathing right away.
Anyway, she’s now in hospital on fluids.
Jingles for your boy!
