Sneaky plants you think are safe
Did you know that many plants you FEED your horses
are actually listed as "Poisonous"? Think carefully. What do you feed in your hay that would potentially
harm your horse? What's REALLY in you hay? Horrible weeds? Nope. Your HAY!
1. Fescue grass (common lawn grass) is designed to fatten cattle. Often
also fed to horses, but to get grasses to fatten cattle, they have to either be high in protein, fat or sugars.
Horses don't tolerate sugars well and Fescue is rampant in sugars. Generally, cool season grasses are loaded with more
sugars than warm season grasses. Fescue easily triggers laminitis, colic and certain varieties will cause reproductive issues
for mares. The sugars cause metabolic problems. There is a fungus "endophyte" that contributes to the
grass's hardiness that also causes preterm birth, thickened or retained placentas and problems with lactation in
mares. You can get "edophyte" free varieties but they tend to be less hardy. My main concern is that it
is one of the highest in sugars. It's so well known for triggering lamnitis that in cows they call it "Fescue
Foot" . It CAN be used for horses, but try to get stemmy, more mature cuttings and do not feed to horses prone to hoof or
weight issues. Soaking with water before feeding will remove some sugar.
2. Brome-also a cool season grass, it's full of sugar, but does not have the endophyte issue that
fescue has.
3. Asiklike Clover-Often tainted with
a fungus, will cause sever "Slobbers" In horses. The fungus irritates the oral mucosa triggering excessive
drooling that appears to be slimy water pouring out of the mouth. There is potential for dehydration, not to mention the usual
colic/lamintits risk.
4. Cockle Burrs- If you ever find
them in your hay, try to remove the plants. Most horses will avoid eating them in favor of grass, but this helps
the plant take over certain areas and horses that are really hungry may nibble on the plant or consume them in hay.
They could potentially cause in-coordination, colic and even death if consumed. Again, most horses won't eat them,
but if there isn't enough food, they may try them.
5. Bermuda grass-Now
this one is actually a healthy grass to feed as hay and forage. It's low in sugars and is great for laminitic horses UNLESS
it's infected with "Ergot" which is, you guessed it, a fungal infection of the grass. It can cause strange
neurological symptoms such as head tilting, shaking and even abortion in mares. Infected grass has blackened and
red seed heads, but healthy, safe grass will be the normal green seed-heads. Once the infected grass/hay is removed from
the diet, symptoms reverse.
Please note, that
fescue and brome, and other cool season grasses increase in sugar content with the weather. Drought, cold snaps, mowing and
overgrazing makes the grass not utilize the sugars it's producing by not growing, so the grass is richer until it is used
up in growth. Also, levels begin to rise as the day goes on, and peak sugar is reached from 4pm to dusk. The lowest sugar
levels are generally around dawn, when the grass has depleted it's sugars by growing. So, grazing from noon on is the worst
time of day. Cold after sunny days also increases sugar content. Watching the weather helps prevent laminitic attacks. Grazing
at night after dusk, through dawn is your best bet. Also, when your hay was cut will affect how much sugar is in it. You can
have it checked by your county extenstion office for a few dollars so you know how to supplement accordingly or what not to
feed to your IR horses.
*Sources include Equinenest,
Wickipedia, and "Horse Owner's Field Guide to Toxic Plants" by Sandra M. Burger.