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The Site Our purpose The Site Submission Info Contact Affiliates	Home \| FAQ \| Forums \| Subscribe \| Contact Poison in the Pasture by Tracy J. Johnson Photo credits: Cornell University It’s finally Saturday and you’re ready to have some fun after a long week of school, so you and your friend decide to take your horses for a ride. Along the way your friend’s horse gets lazy and falls behind. While you are waiting for her to catch up, your horse suddenly snatches a few mouthfuls of grass along the roadside. "Hey, stop it!" you scold as you pull his head up. As he chews, you notice some purple flowers sticking out of his mouth but think nothing of it. As your friend catches up you continue on your ride. But later when you go to bring your horse in for the night, you discover that something is wrong. Your horse is acting colicky and staggering all over the place. Heart racing, you run into the house to phone the vet, who hurries out. As your vet is examining your horse you remember the purple flowers your horse was eating that afternoon, so you mention them. Sure enough, those flowers are the reason your horse is sick. Your vet tells you that your horse has eaten larkspur, a toxic plant that can be deadly. Fortunately for your horse, treatment was started early enough and he made a complete recovery. Not all horses are that lucky. Not Every Plant Is Safe Horses will generally avoid plants that are poisonous because most of them taste bad! But if a horse is hungry enough or bored enough, he might decide to munch on whatever he can find – including poisonous plants. Also, toxic plants can get baled up in hay and a horse may eat them accidentally. This is why you should always be sure to buy good quality hay that is free of weeds. An Ounce of Prevention… Some poisonous plants can cause sudden death by just eating one plant. Others need to be consumed in large quantities over a period of time to cause illness. A scary thing is that many plants that are extremely poisonous to horses are quite common. The best way to deal with poisonous plants is to prevent your horse from eating them in the first place! Here are some tips to keep your horse healthy. Do some research and become aware of the types of poisonous plants that are found in your area, as well as the symptoms of poisoning. Inspect your pasture for poisonous plants often. If you find one, pull it up by the roots and destroy it immediately. Make sure your horse has enough to eat. If your pasture is poor-quality or mostly dirt, you may have to feed your horse hay year-round. A horse that has plenty to munch on is much less likely to eat poisonous plants. Make sure you purchase good quality hay to feed your horse. Good hay should smell good and be free of weeds. Signs of Plant Poisoning Following is a list of some of the most common symptoms seen in cases of ingestion of poisonous plants. Digestive problems. Many plants that are poisonous irritate a horse’s abdominal tract and cause colic-like symptoms, such as excessive rolling and biting or kicking at the stomach. Photosensitization. Certain plants contain agents that cause horses to become suddenly supersensitive to sunlight. This results in red, swollen, painful skin that looks like sunburn. Heart effects. Some plants can affect the heart, causing the heart to beat irregularly and, in the case of very toxic plants, they can cause sudden heart failure. Blood effects. Anemia (a decrease of red blood cells) can be a sign of plant poisoning. Nervous System symptoms. Many poisonous plants affect the nervous system and cause symptoms like extreme sleepiness, stumbling and unpredictable/wild behavior. Sudden death. A horse owner’s worst nightmare. If you suspect your horse has eaten a toxic plant, the first thing you should do is prevent further exposure. The second thing you should do is call your vet immediately. In all poisoning cases time is your enemy. Delays could cost your horse his life. Top 5 Worst Offenders There are literally hundreds of plants that are toxic to horses. This is a list of five plants that are very common and very deadly. *Locoweed* Locoweed is a plant that, unfortunately, horses seem to enjoy eating. Many horses actually become addicted to it and seek it out in pastures. A horse that is poisoned by locoweed will exhibit crazy "loco" behavior. Weight loss may also occur. There is no effective treatment for locoweed poisoning. Horses should be immediately removed from access to the plant or they will die. If a horse survives the poisoning, they rarely ever make a full recovery. They may always show central nervous system signs such as discoordination, and may never again be safe to ride. Red Maple Ingestion of wilted red maple leaves causes severe damage to the red blood cells of a horse. Symptoms of poisoning include weakness, pale mucous membranes, and depression. It only takes 3 pounds of leaves to kill a 1,000 pound horse. *Yew* Yew is often used as decorative shrubbery, but it is lethal to horses. Yew contains taxine, an agent that depresses the action of the heart. Horses will show signs of poisoning after ingesting as little as .1 percent of their body weight. Horses like yew and will eat it even if there is plenty of other food available. Once eaten, death is usually inevitable. Some horses will immediately collapse and die beside the plant - many horses that are killed by yew are found with half-chewed leaves still in their mouth. Before dying, symptoms may include a lowered heart rate, nervousness and digestive disturbances. Water Hemlock Water Hemlock is found growing wild in boggy areas throughout the United States. It is very toxic and a fast killer. Horses find the young spring plants to be particularly tasty and one mouthful can kill a horse in just fifteen minutes. Symptoms are trembling, dilation of the pupils, drooling, high temperature and abdominal pain.There is no known treatment. *Milkweed* It doesn’t take much milkweed to kill a horse. This plant is just as toxic when it is dry, so contaminated hay is potentially toxic. Symptoms of milkweed poisoning are drooling, discoordination, violent seizures and colic. Death may occur 1-3 days after ingestion. Some other common toxic plants to watch out for are: yellowstar thistle, oak trees, black walnut trees, hydrangeas, bracken fern, cocklebur and St. Johnswort, just to name a few. Be Aware Every year, many horses become ill or die from the effects of eating toxic plants. Oftentimes, these tragedies could have been easily prevented if the owner had taken a little time to monitor the plants that were growing in his pasture. Keep in mind that those harmless looking weeds that are growing in your pasture could contain deadly toxins. As responsible horse owners, we need to learn to recognize these toxic plants and remove them before they have a chance to cause any damage. After all, it’s our job to keep our equine friends safe and healthy.
Topics Hunter/Jumper Eventing Dressage Education Riding in College Industry Training Health
Columns Fun Stuff Ringside Critique Q&A: Life & Horses Life in the USPC Riding in the IHSA The Equine Life

It’s finally Saturday and you’re ready to have some fun after a long week of school, so you and your friend decide to take your horses for a ride. Along the way your friend’s horse gets lazy and falls behind. While you are waiting for her to catch up, your horse suddenly snatches a few mouthfuls of grass along the roadside. "Hey, stop it!" you scold as you pull his head up. As he chews, you notice some purple flowers sticking out of his mouth but think nothing of it. As your friend catches up you continue on your ride.

But later when you go to bring your horse in for the night, you discover that something is wrong. Your horse is acting colicky and staggering all over the place. Heart racing, you run into the house to phone the vet, who hurries out.

As your vet is examining your horse you remember the purple flowers your horse was eating that afternoon, so you mention them. Sure enough, those flowers are the reason your horse is sick. Your vet tells you that your horse has eaten larkspur, a toxic plant that can be deadly. Fortunately for your horse, treatment was started early enough and he made a complete recovery.

Horses will generally avoid plants that are poisonous because most of them taste bad! But if a horse is hungry enough or bored enough, he might decide to munch on whatever he can find – including poisonous plants.

Also, toxic plants can get baled up in hay and a horse may eat them accidentally. This is why you should always be sure to buy good quality hay that is free of weeds.

Some poisonous plants can cause sudden death by just eating one plant. Others need to be consumed in large quantities over a period of time to cause illness. A scary thing is that many plants that are extremely poisonous to horses are quite common.

The best way to deal with poisonous plants is to prevent your horse from eating them in the first place! Here are some tips to keep your horse healthy.

Following is a list of some of the most common symptoms seen in cases of ingestion of poisonous plants.

Digestive problems. Many plants that are poisonous irritate a horse’s abdominal tract and cause colic-like symptoms, such as excessive rolling and biting or kicking at the stomach.

Photosensitization. Certain plants contain agents that cause horses to become suddenly supersensitive to sunlight. This results in red, swollen, painful skin that looks like sunburn.

Heart effects. Some plants can affect the heart, causing the heart to beat irregularly and, in the case of very toxic plants, they can cause sudden heart failure.

Blood effects. Anemia (a decrease of red blood cells) can be a sign of plant poisoning.

Nervous System symptoms. Many poisonous plants affect the nervous system and cause symptoms like extreme sleepiness, stumbling and unpredictable/wild behavior.

If you suspect your horse has eaten a toxic plant, the first thing you should do is prevent further exposure. The second thing you should do is call your vet immediately. In all poisoning cases time is your enemy. Delays could cost your horse his life.

There are literally hundreds of plants that are toxic to horses. This is a list of five plants that are very common and very deadly.

Locoweed is a plant that, unfortunately, horses seem to enjoy eating. Many horses actually become addicted to it and seek it out in pastures. A horse that is poisoned by locoweed will exhibit crazy "loco" behavior. Weight loss may also occur. There is no effective treatment for locoweed poisoning. Horses should be immediately removed from access to the plant or they will die. If a horse survives the poisoning, they rarely ever make a full recovery. They may always show central nervous system signs such as discoordination, and may never again be safe to ride.

Ingestion of wilted red maple leaves causes severe damage to the red blood cells of a horse. Symptoms of poisoning include weakness, pale mucous membranes, and depression. It only takes 3 pounds of leaves to kill a 1,000 pound horse.

Yew is often used as decorative shrubbery, but it is lethal to horses. Yew contains taxine, an agent that depresses the action of the heart. Horses will show signs of poisoning after ingesting as little as .1 percent of their body weight. Horses like yew and will eat it even if there is plenty of other food available. Once eaten, death is usually inevitable. Some horses will immediately collapse and die beside the plant - many horses that are killed by yew are found with half-chewed leaves still in their mouth. Before dying, symptoms may include a lowered heart rate, nervousness and digestive disturbances.

Water Hemlock

Water Hemlock is found growing wild in boggy areas throughout the United States. It is very toxic and a fast killer. Horses find the young spring plants to be particularly tasty and one mouthful can kill a horse in just fifteen minutes. Symptoms are trembling, dilation of the pupils, drooling, high temperature and abdominal pain.There is no known treatment.

Milkweed

It doesn’t take much milkweed to kill a horse. This plant is just as toxic when it is dry, so contaminated hay is potentially toxic. Symptoms of milkweed poisoning are drooling, discoordination, violent seizures and colic. Death may occur 1-3 days after ingestion.

Some other common toxic plants to watch out for are: yellowstar thistle, oak trees, black walnut trees, hydrangeas, bracken fern, cocklebur and St. Johnswort, just to name a few.

Every year, many horses become ill or die from the effects of eating toxic plants. Oftentimes, these tragedies could have been easily prevented if the owner had taken a little time to monitor the plants that were growing in his pasture.

Keep in mind that those harmless looking weeds that are growing in your pasture could contain deadly toxins. As responsible horse owners, we need to learn to recognize these toxic plants and remove them before they have a chance to cause any damage. After all, it’s our job to keep our equine friends safe and healthy.