Looking for alternative feeder options for my choke-prone horse. The Pre-Vent feeders look quite promising. Has anyone used them? Did it work for your horse? Other feeder suggestions? We’ve tried the “rocks in the bucket” strategy… my horse just flips them out of the bucket.
The choke prone horse at our barn only gets his food as a mash in a flat pan on the floor. No treats, hay in a slow feeder net.
That’s what we’ve been doing, but he choked again on well-soaked grain. His teeth were floated in August and then checked again in November - no problem there. He was scoped and there were no abnormalities either. Trying to find a way to slow him down while he eats his grain.
I kind of have the same problem with my cat… she can only have a little bit of dry food at a time. So we built her a feeder: https://vimeo.com/160630840
If I had a horse that needed small meals spaced out every single day, I’d be looking for something like that where I could fill a hopper and it would dispense on a schedule / when a sensor is triggered.
I have seen timers for deer feeders, maybe one of those could be adapted?
My horse is fed the same as Sonny’s Mom’s horse. Her ground feeder is HUGE (like maybe 18in to 2ft across) compared to the small amount of feed she gets (doesn’t fill the whole pan). I am not sure what you are feeding but maybe the type of feed (pellets vs textured?) may be contributing? My horse gets beet pulp shreds, Coolstance Copra (looks almost like sawdust) and Renew Gold (very small pellets almost like little balls). If your horse is still choking on the hay then it may need to be soaked.
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If your horse has choked recently, I think it would be wise to cut his grain for a while until his oesophagus is healed: at least a few days. If he choked more than once, allow more time.
Maybe ask your vet for something that could soothe it as well.
Personally, I would change your horse’s feed. Choking is dangerous and can cause aspiration pneumonia.
He’s fed 2lbs of well-soaked TC Lite, split into two feedings. I’ve heard from a few people that TC Lite has been the culprit for choke in their horses, so I think it may be time to consider a different (non-pelleted) feed. Thankfully, he hasn’t ever choked on hay. He gets his hay in a slow-feeder (PortaGrazer) that lets him eat small bites with his head/jaw in a normal position.
He’s being managed post-choke according to the vet’s recommendations. I’m well aware of the dangers of choke and aspiration pneumonia - thankfully we seem to have avoided that this time. A feed change is certainly something I’m considering, although it seems to have less to do with the feed and more to do with the pace at which he eats it. He gets a pound of grain per feeding, 2x a day. That’s really not a lot at a time, and I don’t have the option to cut it back any further because the barn will not do more than 2 feedings and I can’t be there to do it myself.
Not really looking for care suggestions here - I started a previous thread to that effect that a lot of people contributed very informative advice on. Simply looking for reviews on the Pre-Vent feeders or other feed tubs similar to it.
I suggested changing the feed because some type are more likely to cause chokes. Maybe check for a Senior feed for horses prone to choking. TC Senior comes to mind.
I took care of a small TB that was a real vacuum… causing colics/blockage. No matter if his pelleted feed was soaked or turned into a mash, he would « inhale » his food in one straight breath…
We tried the rock, the pan on the ground, the really large feeder, etc.
What worked was to feed him unsoaked big chunked feed (+ oil) that he had to chew. Never had a problem after.
He gets a pound of grain per feeding, 2x a day. That’s really not a lot at a time, and I don’t have the option to cut it back any further because the barn will not do more than 2 feedings and I can’t be there to do it myself.
It has nothing to do with quantity, but how he eats. He could choke on a single pellet. :eyerolls: Horses…
Not really looking for care suggestions here - I started a previous thread to that effect that a lot of people contributed very informative advice on. Simply looking for reviews on the Pre-Vent feeders or other feed tubs similar to it.
This tub wouldn’t have prevent my TB to « inhale » its food.
OP, I assume you are talking about This Feeder.
I have no experience with this particular feeder but it does seem like with that amount of grain something like this would definitely slow your horse down. Having to get the feed out of the little compartments would take some effort.
I have something similar (but it has bumps, not dents) for my dog. It works great.
I’ve used the Pre Vent feeder. In fact I’m still using one. It slows them down, but fine or wet material gets stuck down in the bottom of the feeder dents and has to be periodically cleaned out.
My barn has mixed the grain ration in with the hay and Chaffee hay in the porta grazer. They have to really work at it to get everything. It is a pain for the barn staff, it certainly does work.
I have the Pre Vent feeder but no longer use it for my current horses. The original horse who needed it eventually just learned to tip it to get the grain out of the bottom. I didn’t want to attach it to the corner walls as recommended as I was worried about him getting stuck, etc.
I now have 2 boarder horses that are prone to choke, one pretty bad. They are fed Equine Senior and my solution is a large flat rubber bucket on the floor, with water added to the pellets…I put enough water in there so you can’t even see the grain and then some. Since I’ve done that, no choke so far…although you do hear a lot of slurping. They both finish everything and even lick up the liquid mush. They both get over 3 lbs each feeding.
As another poster said, I did the water thing with the Pre Vent feeder but the horses couldn’t get the mush at the bottom of the holes. The flat bucket works much better. These horses have no problem with hay.
I have a horse that was prone to choke. He had 3 pretty major choke episodes, 2 required veterinary intervention. I ordered him a pre-vent feeder and was shocked by how huge it was. Like full size muck bucket size. Definitely not something you could reasonably use in a stall. My barn owner made me a special corner feeder and he’s been fine for 6 years choke free. He just took the existing corner feeder and screwed 2 pieces of PVC pipe into the bottom. Now it divides his bucket into thirds, he has to really slow down and turn his nose to get all the grain and it probably takes him 10 minutes to eat his 1/2 pound of grain. It was such a simple but amazing solution for him.
best of luck, choke is scary!
I have the IFEED system installed in my barn and love it. It can really slow them down. I use it to throw a mid morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack while I am at work. They were wonderful to work with.
I use the Pre-Vent feeders after seeing them in a friend’s barn and hearing her raves after using them for several years. They are working well for my horses. I do think you will find that they slow eating down and reduce the chance of choke.
Thank you, everyone! The iFeed looks really neat, but I wonder if it could dispense soaked feed? Dry grain of any kind is a big no-no for him at this point. Plus it’s $$$ and I don’t know if I’d be allowed to install it where I board.
I ordered the pre-vent feeder, so we’ll see how that goes. Changed his grain to TC Complete too. We’re going to need to add a vitamin/mineral supp because he’s only getting about 1/3 the quantity recommended, but it’s a nice soft textured feed that seems to work well as a soupy mash. Hopefully between the feed change and the new feeder we can nip the choke problem in the bud.
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It is interesting that a few people mentioned feeding a Senior feed. Most Senior feed contains some beet pulp. This horse’s vet specifically indicated that this horse should never get any beet pulp or anything containing beet pulp. Therefore he cannot have senior feed.
I re-read this thread and found nowhere anything mentionned by the OP regarding beet pulp.
AND the Op just wrote that s/he switched from TC Lite to TC Complete which is beet pulp based… I doubt the OP wouldn’t follow her/his vet advice…
The vet discouraged pellets, especially since the TC Lite pellets are really dry and hard. Nothing was ever said about beet pulp. I opted for the Complete over the Senior because I talked to a rep at Triple Crown who said the chunky pieces of beet pulp in the Senior could potentially be problematic. The texture of the Complete seems a little more uniform from what I’ve seen, and so far it’s worked well for him. The feeder arrived tonight, so that’s going to be installed tomorrow and we’ll see how that goes.
