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Discussion on Coughing after eating
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New Member:
mailhotm
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Posted on Monday, Sep 21, 2009 - 8:57 pm:
Not sure if I am starting in the right area. Recently our yearling colt has been experiencing a problem when he eats the pellet food we are feeding. This started about four days ago. He will start coughing and clear mucus comes through his nose and mouth. He apparently has no problems eating hay, grazing, or when he has to pick feed from the ground. Since we have a severe red ant problem in our area, I initially thought he may have ingested some and had bites in his throat that were causing the irritation that brought on this situation. Web articles from Texas A&M discussed this situation in cattle. There are no other symptoms and the mare in the same pasture is not experiencing any of them. When I massage his neck I feel a stiff and swollen area about a hands width below the jaw joint. The only other thing we can think of is the possibility that he may be the one chewing on the fence post and has a splinter stuck in his throat. Any suggestions
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 - 8:05 am:
Welcome Martin,
Looks like a OK place to start to me. The history of coughing and clear mucous occurring while eating pellets is very suggestive of esophageal obstruction or what horsemen call "Choke". If there is copious amounts of the clear mucous I will bet it is saliva retrograded into the nasopharynx but usually has food mixed with it. Something you don't mention.
If this is what is going on there are several possibilities for the cause including simple gluttony, for more on this, other differentials, and treatment see Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Mouth, Esophagus, and Liver » Choke: Esophageal Obstruction.
DrO
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