Posts Tagged ‘most poisonous plants for horses’

Of the hundreds of toxic plants in North America, only a handful are likely to bring serious harm to horses. Here are the top 10 most poisonous ones to watch out for.

By the Editors of EQUUS magazine

Take a stroll through any pasture, and there among the grasses you’ll find any number of different plants. Small vines, broad-leafed weeds, some wildflowers you recognize–some you don’t. And, as disquieting as it may be to contemplate, the chances are pretty good that at least some are toxic to horses. Hundreds of poisonous plants grow in North America, and many are extremely common. “I defy anyone to tell me they have a pasture with zero poisonous plants,” says Jeffery Hall, DVM, PhD, a toxicologist at Utah State University.

The good news, of course, is that the vast majority of those plants pose little threat to horses. For one thing, most of them are unpalatable, and horses who are filling up on quality forage aren’t likely to spend a lot of time grazing on the few bitter leaves populating their pasture. Another factor that protects horses is their size–a 1,000-pound animal has to consume significantly higher quantities of most toxins than a smaller animal does to feel any effects. So, for the most part, as long as your horses are healthy and your pasture is in good shape, you have little to worry about.

However, some plants are cause for concern either because even a curious nibble can spell doom or because repeated browsing over weeks or months can lead to serious illness and death. All are worth getting to know by sight–not only so you can eliminate them from your horsekeeping areas, but also so that you can avoid encounters with them in the woods, on the roadsides and along the waterways where you ride. According to Anthony Knight, BVSc, MRCVS, plant toxicologist from Colorado State University, these 10 plants are those most dangerous to horses in the United States:

1. Bracken fern (Pteridum aquilinum)
Also known as: brake fern, eagle fern Read the rest of this entry »