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Poisonous Plants

Ms. Gottfried

+Most likely you have them in your pasture…

HUNDREDS of plants that are common in North America are poisonous to horses.

Very few green pastures have no poisonous plants in them.

Luckily, there are a few good reasons why horses don’t eat most of them!

+Why do most horses not eat them? Thankfully, most are not palatable.

What horse wants to eat a small bitter plant when there is so much sweet green grass around?

Horses are HUGE Because of a horses large size, it takes a lot more than one

bite to reach toxic levels.

+On the other side…

Some plants can be toxic even with a nibble.

It is important to recognize these plants visually. To help prevent them in your own pasture To recognize them when visiting other places

+Bracken Fern(aka: brake fern, eagle fern)

A perennial fern that has triangular leaves that can reach 2-3 feet high.

Grows in clumps in woodlands and moist, open areas.

Grows all over North American except the desert climates.

+Bracken Fern

Contains thiaminase, which inhibits absorbtion of thiamin (vitamin B1) Necessary for nerve function

Causes neurological impairment.

Some horses actually develop a taste for Bracken Fern!

+Bracken Fern

Symptoms:

Neurological dysfunctions due to Vitamin B deficiency.

Depression, in coordination and blindness

Treatment:

Large doses of thiamin over a few weeks if caught early.

+Now you!

Hemlock aka: poison hemlock, spotted hemlock

Tansy Ragwort

Johnson Grass/Sudan Grass

Locoweed

Yellow star thistle/Russian knapweed

Yew

Red Maple Trees

Water Hemlock

Oleander