CHOKE. 169 



oats or similar food, should be given m such a way that the horse 

 must get it slowly. Several large stones may be placed in the 

 feed box, or the grain may be scattered over the bottom of a large 

 manger. Any device which will force the horse to eat slowly 

 will avoid the difficulty in normal cases. It should also be borne 

 in mind that an animal which has been choked is very liable to 

 have a recurrence of the same difficulty during the first week or 

 two after the accident — on account of dryness with inflammation 

 and irritability of the gullet. 



Treatment. — If the obstruction is within reach it should be 

 removed by the hand, the teeth being held apart by some suitable 

 device to protect the arm. A person with long arm and slender 

 hand can frequently relieve choking in the pharnyx or upper por- 

 tion of the gullet, especially with an assistant to shove the ob- 

 struction upward toward the hand. 



By coughing. — Dry food that can not be reached by hand 

 should be softened by the use of oily or mucilaginous drinks, and 

 then gradually worked loose by manipulation. A small portion 

 may be loosened from the upper end of the obstruction and the 

 animal may be induced to cough it out. Then another drink is 

 given and the manipulation and cough are repeated. Frequently 

 the obstructing mass can be loosened at the lower portion, and 

 the loosened portion swallowed. The simple device of forcing the 

 horse to drink enough to fill up the upper portion of the esoph- 

 agus may be resorted to, then the horse will usually cough vio- 

 lently — expelling a portion of the obstruction. In case the horse 

 does not cough he can be induced to do so by pinching the larynx 

 and releasing suddenly. In this way considerable portions may 

 be removed by each coughing. Probang should not be used in 

 cases where the choke is due to dry food. 



Mechanical means. — Solid bodies, like pieces of roots, may 

 be either shoved down to the stomach, or drawn upward by means 

 of a cork-screw probang. The probang consists of a smooth 

 flexible tube of suitable size, with a central rod, upon the end of 

 which there is placed ( in some makes) a sort of cork-screw. This 

 is withdrawn into the tube during introduction, when the end of 

 the probang touches the obstruction the central rod is shoved 

 forward and the cork-screw worked into the root or whatever the 

 obstruction may be. If the obstruction fails to withdraw it is at 



Vet. Studies— 11. 



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