Toxic Plants and Trees

sbienusa · 09-09-2011, 10:36 AM

I might of overlooked it, but houndstongue is poisonous as well. We leased a beautiful thoroughbred mare that was looking really thin. The lady we leased her from said that she was always like that and not to worry. So my daughter gave did everything she could to put weight on her. I finally called the vet and they ran a blood culture on her. She had liver problems and kidney failure. Come to find out, the lady had houndstongue in her paddock and had noticed the mare had been eating it, but didn't know it was poisonous. :(

jhorse753 · 09-19-2011, 01:54 PM

Found this while doing some research on toxic plants. Very helpful website. Click on each plant and a picture pops up so you know exactly what it looks like.

ASPCA | Print Now

Have a question--I'd like to put some fence covering (a vine or plant of some kind) along my fence line. Although it would not be near the horses, I'd prefer to have something non-toxic for them just in case. Any ideas? I'm kind of at a loss. Thanks!

Aleksander · 09-20-2011, 02:26 AM

Welcome to the forum shoemaker!!!

Sharron · 09-30-2011, 08:35 AM

Pattison's Curse otherwise known as Riverina Bluebell. Damages the liver and can cause serious neurological disorders. I lost a horse to it. They say horses wont eat it unless they don't have enough feed but when I talked with the vet about my horses diet, he explained that if a horse ate it as a foal due to limited feed, they may develop a taste for it and will still eat it even if they are getting sufficient other feeds. They recommend high carbohydrate diet with no protien as the carbohydrates help the liver to rebuild itself (and encourage water).

BB Marie · 10-04-2011, 01:49 AM

Hi I have a link to add to the discussion. Guide to Poisonous Plants
This is the page I use for all of my poisonous plant, tree, shrub & ornamental questions. There is a search option & lists of various plants. Hope this helps everyone!

Northernstar · 10-24-2011, 06:44 PM

Here in MI, I've read that the two worst poisonous to horses are Red Maple and Cherry (any species).
Apparantly, 3 cherry leaves will kill a horse before the Vet can get there - a friend of a friend had the horrible experience of seeing this happen to her beloved horse. Cyanide is the culprit, and the worst is in the fall when they are concentrated with it!
When I read that, I had a panic attack noticing 3 'evil' cherry trees well behind our newly laid pasture fencing - not far enough in my opinion with wind in this elevated area! Needless to say, they were cut down immediately!!!! I sleep well at night knowing she's safe....
I am a Naturalist and know a good amount about MI trees, but also as a first time horse owner, was so glad to have learned this information!!!!!

Hoofprints in the Sand · 10-26-2011, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChingazMyBoy

Peach trees are poisoness to horses because of the leaves and also when the fruit is ripe it can also cause colic. The reason the leaves are poisioness is because the leaves can produce something called cyanide. This is produced by the leaves when they are wilted or damaged. The results can be fatal in minutes if enough of it is eaten.

Symptons Include:

Troubled/labored breathing
Flared nostril
Lack of coordination
Trembling
Agitation

Cyanide poisoning is curable, however, it is usually impossible to get a vet to the horse quickly enough to save him. This is because the effects happen so quickly.

Cyanide is lethal because it reacts with iron in your horse's body to stop cellular respiration. Cyanide also prevents oxygen from being transported via the blood stream, so the cause of death is suffocation due to lack of oxygen.

Artical:
Peach Tree: A Poisonous Plant for Horses

THIS SCARES ME!! We have a peach tree in our yard at home and when all the peaches start falling I gather them up and bring them to the barn, the horses LOVE them!!

Someone did say not to feed the pit because it's toxic but I'd never heard the actual fruit part is too!! Well, no more of THAT next year!! Luckily no one's horse got sick from them.

Hoofprints in the Sand · 10-26-2011, 01:18 PM

Oh never mind, I went and read the link!

They cause colic if the horses gorge themselves on it! WHEW!!

"The ripened fruit on peach trees can also cause a problem for horses, though they are not toxic. If a tree is within reach of the pasture, horses can gorge themselves on the ripe fruit, leading to episodes of equine colic."

Hoofprints in the Sand · 10-28-2011, 01:11 PM

Ok I feel the need to link to my recent thread about FOXTAIL because it's also a bad weed and shows up in some HAY sometimes!

What toxic plant would cause these sores??

karliejaye · 11-21-2011, 10:19 AM

I just wanted to interject that horses are most likely to try these poisonous plants when the pasture grass is over grazed or has little to no nutritional value or has become less pallatable. Ie if you live in an area where most growth of the grass occurs April to July with a short secondary growth in October, the months to really watch for the weeds would be July-September and especially in the early spring when many forbs will become pallatable before the grasses sprout.

But really, if you see a toxic plant, PULL IT! And don't burn oleander, as the smoke is also toxic to humans and horses.

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