I have a 3 yo Clydesdale mare that shows signs of possible choke after eating her grain/beet pulp and after some treats.

History - I rescued her last November. She was 200-300 pounds underweight, very dehydrated, feet in horrible shape, full of worms and her mane, tail and forelock were masses of burrs, mud, manure and mats. After about six months she really started looking healthy again. Shinny coat, feet balanced and sound, ribs not showing - not much fat as she keeps growing UP and her mane, tail and forelock are growing back out. She is still improving and I think looks GREAT.

I feed her twice a day - 1# plain beet pulp, 2.5# Buckeye Safe and Easy pellet and 2oz Ultimate Finish 40% fat supplement - All mixed with water to make a mash. And all the good grass pasture she can eat.

After she eats her gain she shows symptoms of choke - stretching her head/neck up then out and down and seems to gulp air then swallows hard. She doesn't cough and has no discharge from the nose as I have seen before with choke. She seems fine with in 20 - 30 minutes when she goes back to eating grass.
She also does this after I give her treats. - Farm and Fleet cookies/briskets about the size of a silver dollar or apple pellet treats. I also give alfalfa cubes as treats. She seems to not have these issues when I give her bigger cubes... Like she actually has to chew them and the others she just swallows whole which might be causing the problems...

I separate all the horses when I feed grain so that they don't feel like they have to compete for their grain and hopefully will eat at their own pace and not gulp it down. She finishes before the others even though she has the largest amount.

Does any one have suggestions on how to get her to eat slower and chew it better.... even though it is already soft and a mash?
Should I not be wetting her grain and/or beet pulp? Maybe she would actually chew rather than slurp? lol
Should I have her scoped to make sure there is not a blockage in her esophagus?

I have read of horses having partial blockages but the only signs were they were not gaining weight. My girl is not only holding her weight but gaining!

I just want to make sure she is OK.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you
Elizabeth

It is probably best to keep her feed wet.
Having a Vet out to look @ her teeth to see if she can chew properly and yes if you can afford to have her scoped, that would be beneficial as she may have scar tissue built up from a previous episode. They can then suggest how to best deal long term.
The more often you can feed her-6x daily- will help her not to try and eat as fast as possible. Smaller bucket opening, Large objects[rounded rocks] feeding on floor, away from others-you already are...
Although some horses never change

I had her teeth checked right after I brought her home and again in July. I will see if there is a vet near me that has a scope.

Thank you

BEFORE you pay for a scope job. Try this. (Still call a vet first and get opinions)

You can sterilize a rock (bigger than she can put in her mouth) and put it in her feed. It will help her eat slower as she will have to eat around it.
It may very likely be that (if her grain is just a complete "mush" no-chewing) she is sort of gagging on it. Like when you're eating a bowl of rice, you want a drink with it, or potato chips, OH- or mashed potato. You're not actually choking, just getting gagged by the "Mush Effect." (Anyone like the name? Lol)

I actually had a big Quarter horse mare that did something similar to what you're describing. She did it when her grain was wet and sloppy. As if she had too much mashed potato in her throat.

Try the rock to help her eat slower, and also have a bucket of water beside her food bucket just in case she figures out it might help swallow.
I know you want to soak her food, but maybe try giving it to her just once to see if she still has the same effect. If she doesn't, could be that she was having Mush effect.

If she is being gagged by the "mushy-ness", it wouldn't make a difference whether there is scar tissue in her throat or not. She would still need some sort of aid with her food regardless.

If it doesn't get better after Ltc4h's and my ideas, call the vet (you can call anyway for opinions/ideas, they may first suggest to you some of the same things).

the "Mush Effect." (Anyone like the name? Lol)

Sounds extremely technical

It would be beneficial to run a scope down the esophagus to check for scar tissue and motility problems. This diagnostic will help give you an idea as to long term problems that you may have. Also, it is possible that something such as an entrapped epiglottis may be present. If this is the case, it can be fixed and the problem may be resolved completely.

If you don't check, you won't know what is really wrong or if it can be fixed.

Good luck!

P.S. The rock idea is a good way to get a horse to slow down their eating, but you should still find out what the actual problem is.