As frost and colder weather affect plant growth in pastures and along trails in many areas, horse owners are urged to make sure browsing horses do not ingest plants that are toxic.
Poisonous plants can cause serious injury to horses, particularly if animals graze when plants are at an especially dangerous growth stage, when little other forage is available, and when animals are very thirsty.
Poisonings can be avoided by proper management of animals, pastures, and hay. Suggestions for preventing poisoning are as follows:
- Know which plants are poisonous in your area and when they are potentially dangerous.
- Inspect pastures to identify and destroy poisonous plants before initiating grazing.
- Be sure animals are neither hungry nor thirsty when put on pasture or fed hay that might have poisonous plants.
- Buy hay locally so that unfamiliar and potentially poisonous plants are not fed and seeds are not introduced to your farm.
- Maintain grazing pressure appropriate for the pasture.
- Provide supplemental feed and water to animals during periods of low pasture availability.
By taking preventative measures, horses can be protected from plants that might cause colic, health problems or death.
County agents often have lists of toxic plants in their area available either on line or through email requests.