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Horses Eating Oak Leaves

23K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
So my family has 2 Miniature Horses (6 & 7 months old) and they have developed a taste for oak leaves. Their field is right next to some woods that is mostly comprised of black jack scrub oak. We rake the field regularly to get rid of the leaves but what I am wanting to know is exactly how bad are they for them? I've heard that large amounts can be fatal, and on that note what constitutes as "large amounts"?
 
#4 ·
Horse will seek out what provides micronutrients. Even notice how in the fall, the tall prickly weeds with the little yellow blossoms become like candy to horses. This often concerns owner when the horses start dropping cow splats. Mine will devour the bark of a poplar that's cut in the winter - go after it like beaver. By fencing them in we actually deprive them of the nutrients that are scrounged in the wild.
 
#6 ·
Mine eat oak leaves like kids go for candy. I've never heard of them being bad,
Haven't you?? I've known about The Problem for a couple of years now, when I got what for(I think here), for my negligence of realising how Deadly the leaves were & my horses were Going To Die.... when my guys also reckon they're lollies too, been eating them for years! :razz:

I have known, for a lot longer, that acorns do have a high level of... can't remember toxin, which in large doses or unprocessed(people use acorn flour but I think it's in the hull) are said to be toxic, but while mine love leaves, never seen them touch an acorn. Perhaps some varieties are more toxic, or large quantities... Maybe if they do get into acorns or there're a heap of trees & they love them too much, fence off trees to be safe, but IME leaves have been no problem.

*Ed cos I missed Saddle's reply above & that is also an extremely valid consideration - just doesn't apply to everything IMO - horses don't *always* know what's good for them.
 
#8 ·
Not many horses will actually eat acorns but if they get a taste for them then they will pig out on them and it will cause liver/kidney problems and death.

The New Forest where feral ponies roam, have a lot of oak trees and come autumn many pigs are turned out in the forest to eat the acorns which are no toxic to pigs.

They wouldn't do this without good reason.
 
#9 ·
My old military yard had a huge Oak tree in the middle of one of the big paddocks. We had to rake and collect the acorns, one of then horses ended up at the clinic with colic.

It's a poison the builds up in the horse's body over time, and as much as they love it, pick them up and stop them eating it!
 
#10 ·
I have 26 acres, most of it with oak trees.I also have a couple of mares that have been eating the acorns for the past 12 years I have lived here, and have shown NO ill effects, other than getting too fat. Acorns are very fattening, which is why pigs get turned out to eat them. I really don't see me picking up 26 acres of acorns. WHERE would I put the pile? Any idea how many oak trees grow in these hills? More than there are people, actually.
 
#11 ·
SF I know there are many different types of oak but as far as I know the acorns are poisonous.
Most horses do not eat them.

A horse stud farm next to where I was had a stallion turned out in the Autumn with some mares, about 12-15 of them.
I noticed within a week he had lost a lot of weight but thought it was because he had been covering the mares although I knew most of them were already in foal.
Overnight he went from looking thin to looking downright skeletal.
I knew the owner was in hospital so I actally went there to say the horse needed to come in as he was so thin. They left him until the next day. He was seriously sick from acorn poisoning yet none of the mares were sick at all.

I can assure you that pigs being turned out in the New Forest is not because acorns fatten them up, it os to eat the acorns. Have you ever tried to gather hogs in hundreds of acres of forest?
 
#12 ·
There are at LEAST 4 different types of oak on my property, and in this part of the state there are very few horses who DON'T eat acorns in the fall. All of mine do (used to have 24 til a couple years ago), with 2 mares being hogs about it. I have to put those 2 up in the fall for a while to keep them from foundering.

And here, pigs ARE turned out in the oak woods to get fat.
 
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#13 ·
In the back of my horse pen along the river I've got several huge oaks. I've seen the horses rooting around in there when there is a bumper crop of acorns but they don't eat much. The wild turkeys get them before the horse think to come back for a second helping. They have too many other more tasty plants to eat.

If the oaks were near the barn I'd probably rake up the excess leaves and acorns. I noticed that any sugar maple leaves that fall over the fence disappear. So anything potentially hazardous near the barn goes. I'd rake them but not a panicked rake. Just one of those when I get to it rakings.

Their pen does go into wooded areas. Lot of trees of all sorts out there. They really don't bother much. They would rather have the grass with an occasional taste of this and that.
Sometimes in late winter/early spring when the sap starts running they will peel the poplar and birch trees but even then it's rarely enough to kill the tree. They just want something fresh to taste after a long winter.

Acorns are real bitter. I've tasted them. I didn't die.
People do eat them but they have to repeatedly soak them doing frequent water changes to leach out the tannins. Too much work for me for the little bit of acorn flour you'd get. Rather open a box of Bisquick.
 
#15 ·
Ive never had a problem with acorns but ive heard they are deadly.

As for leafs bark etc... my pasture has a cluster of trees in the middle of it and though my horses are suppliedunlimited access to high quality round bales, minerals, fresh water and lots of grass plus crushed oats amd alfalfa pellets with a probiotic twice a day, they still graze on the tree bark and leafs. Which is very natural and good for them. This is a good article on it. Feeding your horse the natural way | Equine Wellness Magazine
 
#16 ·
About seven of our nine acres have oak trees. There is no way I can keep all of the acorns away from our horses.

The Vet told me that acorns can be addicting to some horses, and they will bypass hay and grass just to get at acorns.

There is a risk of impaction colic and poisoning if they consume large quantities. So far, our horses have been fine with eating them. However, it is a concern for me!

He's an older gentleman and said he's seen one case of acorn poisoning in his lifetime.
 
#17 ·
It turns out there are about 400 varieties of oak trees so I'm wondering if acorn or leaf toxicity, if it exists, varies with variety. Rhubarb is toxic to horses and people yet every spring my arab would eat a piece of leaf about the size of my outstretched hand. Just the once and just the one bite. Did it year after year. The others never touched it.
 
#18 ·
Rhubarb is toxic to horses and people yet every spring my arab would eat a piece of leaf about the size of my outstretched hand. Just the once and just the one bite. Did it year after year. The others never touched it.
To see if it tasted any better than it did last year??:lol:
 
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