Rhaella wrote:Elisia wrote:Rhaella wrote:
horses physically can't vomit
They cant???? That's crazy
yeah, mostly because the muscle that surrounds the esophagus (cardiac sphincter) is so strong it only loosens enough for food to pass down when the horse swallows. so basically it is a one way street. also horses have their stomach in a weird angle compared to the esophagus, so stomach contents can't really go back up. they don't even have the reflex to vomit, which makes sense i guess, given that they wouldn't be able to vomit even if they wanted to.
so if a horse ever eats anything poisonous (and they will, of course), they're kinda done for.
In best case scenario the vet are in time to put a hose in one of the nostrils and then gently guide the hose down the throat and down to the stomach. The vet later pump in water and let the things come out thank to the hose.