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[RC] choking horses, soaking hay - Naomi PrestonI, too, have had a horse choke on hay. At my first Tevis
with Mustang Lady, before she drank at Robinson, she grabbed a huge bite of
the Tevis hay(alfalfa) and had a bad choke. Luckily it was an
hour hold, and she worked it out, with me syringing water into her
mouth (not sure if that helped, but who knows.). She was probably
a bit dehydrated when she stuffed in that hay. Bad
scenario.
I've also heard Dr. Peterson's talk about soaked hay....as
referenced by Merri. BUT, I think avoiding a choke is more important,
especially if it's a horse that has choked before. We've also had
horses choke on grass hay here at the ranch, when we start feeding
hay during the winter. We have two horses that are known
offenders -- they tend to gorge!
I think wetting the hay for the first few bites at a vet check is
prudent. Once they get their "juices going", dry hay
seems fine. Also making sure they don't take a HUGE amount
of hay in their mouth when dehydrated.
Naomi
www.TTeamforendurance.com
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