Horse tales: Animal welfare in Marrakech, part four

In our veterinary clinics we see many cases of working animals suffering from painful conditions which are preventable. The owners of the working animals we treat often do not know how best to look after them, and so as well as providing free veterinary treatment for animals, we make sure we educate the owners in how to take care of them too.

Rajiya the horse was brought into our Marrakech centre after her owner noticed she was coughing, couldn’t eat and was having trouble breathing that morning.

Our veterinary staff gave Rajiya a full clinical exam and very quickly diagnosed that she had choke and was dehydrated. Choke is a blockage in a horse’s throat, which in this case was made up of dry food such as barley and hay, caused by the horse not having enough water to drink. The food formed a solid block that got stuck in Rajiya’s throat and left her able to breathe but unable to swallow.

Horse tales: Animal welfare in Marrakech, part four If left untreated choke can lead to fatal consequences such as pneumonia and in certain cases choke can rupture the food pipe and cause lung infections.

Rajiya was given a sedative to ease her distress and also to relax her muscles, and the vets then flushed away the food stuck in her throat. In this case our veterinary team say they treated the problem just in time, and most likely saved Rajiya’s life.

Rajiya’s owner was then given advice on how to avoid choke in future by keeping Rajiya well hydrated.

To find out more about SPANA’s work in Morocco, click here

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