What plants can horses not eat

Cruciferous vegetables like kale brussel sprouts cabbage broccoli or other things in the cabbage family. Lets take a look at some of the most common trees and plants poisonous to horses.

You could end up with colic death and a huge vet bill.

What plants can horses not eat. Besides these 9 plants oleander yellow star thistle and red maple foliage these 3 plants are considered poisonous too though the exact ways in which they can harm your horse are not yet known. Horses are usually going to eat foliage that they can find in and around the place they are kept. They could also eat leaves while on the trail.

If you are dead set on finding some plants try Holly bushes or some other evergreen type shrub. Just make certain they are not poisonious first. Holly bushes are prickly anyone who has worked in or around them knows.

Ive never seen my horses interested in pine treeswhich come in trees and shrubs. BUT beware because a friend of mine used cedar treesor some other kind of leyland. Lets take a look at some of the most common trees and plants poisonous to horses.

Common Plants Poisonous to Horses. There are many plants that have been identified as being toxic to horses. This is a list of some of the most common poisonous plants and is not in any means exhaustive.

Do You Know Which Plants Can Kill Horses. Horses goats sheep and other animals eat plants for food. However not every plant is safe for even the most robust herbivores.

Lots of plants make animals and people sick. But some plants can kill. Photo by Lindsay Shaver.

Not all plants are equally toxic. Some plants are only toxic if a large quantity is eaten by the animal. Plants that are toxic to horses are not necessarily toxic to deer.

Deer are ruminants like cows and have a four chambered stomach that can handle a little toxicity. As a former horse breeder I wouldnt try the taste test with your horses. You could end up with colic death and a huge vet bill.

Alsike Clover Alsike clover is toxic to horses whether they eat it in a pasture or it is cut into hay. Alsike clover grows up to 30 inches tall and has pink flowers. It grows in the northern parts of the US and Canada.

Alsike clover can cause skin lesions and liver damage and even can be fatal. Some Foods That Horses SHOULD NOT Eat. This list is NOT 100 of every food that a horse should not eat.

Please do your research before feeding a horse anything that isnt on this list. Dusty moldy or very old hay. Cruciferous vegetables like kale brussel sprouts cabbage broccoli or other things in the cabbage family.

Because horses do not metabolize the cyanide compound as efficiently as ruminant animals do grazing healthy adult plants is unlikely to harm them but circumstances that injure the plantwilting trampling frostcan chemically liberate the cyanide within the leaves rendering them dangerous to all species. Cultivated hybrids of Sudan grass typically contain less cyanide if any. Potatoes - As another member of the toxic Solanaceae plant family you should not feed potatos to your horse especially raw but all forms should be avoided.

Green or rotten potatos pose the biggest risk as their chemical composition can cause toxicosis. Plus if eaten whole they can be a major choking hazard. Evergreen shrubs nontoxic to horses provide screening boundary definition hedges and backgrounds for shorter plants.

Some evergreens also provide showy seasonal color such as camellia Camellia japonica. Hardy in USDA zones 7 through 9 these shrubs reach 10 to 15 feet tall and as wide. Large single or double flowers in shades of pink white and red appear in spring.

Horses have to watch what they eat not to maintain a slender figure but because there are so many plants out there that are toxic to them. When I started writing my toxic plants section it quickly became comical as I started recognizing photographing the many plants I was writing about in my daily life. I chose the pics below mainly because they are so common.

Several plants including nightshade become more toxic as they wilt and die posing a danger to horses eating dried hay or plant matter blown into their pastures. The risk of animals becoming ill during the fall is increased as many plants slow their growth in preparation for winter and equines begin to browse on the remaining plants. Jimson weed is an annual plant.

Mowing helps eliminate these plants. Affects horses cows sheep goats pigs and chickens. Distribution - common in moist areas edge of woods along roads.

Poisonous parts - leaves and stems. A horse may eat a surprisingly large or small amount of something for only one or two days and then they are done whereas we humans tend to go for the little and often approach. Another thing to consider is that horses can kill off some of the plants that are best for them in their pasture.

Even more of a problem if they are newly planted. Planting horse-friendly native plants in places where they can only nibble at them over or under a fence can. Here are the safe vegetables and fruits that you can give your horse as treats.

Apple Raisins Banana Orange Pear without the core Plums without the stone Peach without the stone Cucumber Melon and Watermelon Carrot Strawberries Parsnip Grape Turnip Grapefruit Celery And here are the unsafe vegetables and fruits that you should avoid giving them to your horse. Adam-and-Eve Arum Lord-and-Ladies Wake Robin Starch Root Bobbins Cuckoo Plant Scientific Names. Arum maculatum Family.

But before placing any plants in your stables landscape be aware that many popular plants are hazardous to horses. The oleander a southern flowering shrub which is dangerously toxic yet used regularly in commercial and home landscaping Johnson explained.