If you were wondering where you're at, July has confirmed that we are definitely in Florida! With heat indexes in the 100's, the horses are seeking refuge in the shade as much as possible. I'm adding electrolytes and minerals to their grain and soaking feed at least 3 times per week. Horses are getting sprayed down left and right and I catch them playing in their trough puddles in the heat of the day. The life of luxury, no?
Sadly, we bid farewell to adorable pony face, Bodhi, as he embarks on his life-changing journey to join his mother in Canada. What fun! He was a prince for me while walking through the darkness of dawn to meet the massive (literally the biggest horse transport rig I have ever seen) at the paved road. He loaded without hesitation and was playing in his box stall shavings before they pulled off. Safe travels, sweet Bodhi! And enjoy the Canada weather! We know you will.
Paths change and we are forced to make difficult choices, and unfortunately we must say goodbye to not one, but four horses! We will surely miss the adorableness of Bodhi, the polite independence of Dusty, Tav's child-like curiosity, and Pokey's noble nature.
Congratulations to Ashley on her newest addition, a very handsome, young Thoroughbred boy named Anthony! Hopefully Anthony can keep up with Pokey's play drive!
We expect lots of updates from our friends who have to leave us! You and your horses will be missed!
On the heels of horses bidding farewell is the arrival of a few new horses and their humans. Welcome Mary and her two handsome Irish Draughts, Irish and Aiden. I'm looking forward to meeting these two boys and getting to know them. I bet they would enjoy a good romp with big boy Magic and little man Casanova. JW will just have to stand back and supervise those youngins. Irish, Aiden, and mom Mary will be arriving today!
And in two weeks we look forward to welcoming Morgan and her gelding, KC! She'll be attending the University of Florida in the fall - how exciting!
And as today is the last day in July, we say goodbye to another summer month gone by without a donkey foal. C'mon, Karma, how long must we wait?!
Every day, a little something about your horses
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Poinsonous Plants
** This post has been in draft-form for 2 weeks! And you might be interested to hear that I typed this up before having an issue with a bale of contaminated alfalfa hay. Hmmm!
"Poisonous plants" is a scary topic, but I hope to dispel your fears with a little education.
The questions that come to mind are:
1) How likely is it for my horse to get sick from poisonous plants?
2) How much does he have to eat to become ill?
3) How will I know he's been poisoned?
4) What do the poisonous plants look like?
Fortunately for us, small, private boarding facilities generally don't have a problem with poisonous plants when there is good management. You see most poisonings from horses eating hay that has been baled from a pasture full of these weeds or from horses eating the clippings of a freshly mowed pasture. Most poisonous weeds are thorny, smelly, and simply unappetizing, but that doesn't stop some horses from behaving quite opposite to their ancestors and feral counterparts.
So how likely is it for my horse to get sick from poisonous plants? Well, to all you number-nerds, I don't have the statistics, but it is a rare occurrence that a horse will consume enough of the poisonous plant in our pasture setting to get sick. The few poisonous weeds that we see commonly in our area are just not appealing to the equine pallet in the form of a live, growing weed. If they were dried and shredded and stuck in your horse's flake of coastal then you would definitely have need to worry! But have no fear, I know the weed management protocols of our hay grower and he does an excellent job of keeping weeds from his pastures.
Let's say your horse get bored, curious, or thoughtlessly consumes a poisonous weed. How much does she have to eat to become ill? The answer to this question varies from plant to plant, depending on toxicity. The part of the plant that contains the toxin also varies. Leaves, stem, berries, roots... But no matter which plant he's consumed, the treatment is very similar - supportive care in the form of fluids and alternatively, herbal remedies to detoxify.
So far we know that is it very unlikely for a horse to eat the unappetizing weeds, and even when curiosity overrides instinct the horse has to eat more than just a few bored nibbles. So when is it a real concern?
Well, when it's in the hay (or, in the case of our recent issue, when it's come into contact with the hay), or when there are fresh, shredded clippings after mowing.
Again, have no fear! I do not mow over the poisonous weeds for this very reason. Call me crazy, but I actually pull up and toss (into the woods) the poisonous weeds. We have so few that this is feasible.
And how will you know if your horse has been poisoned? Mainly gastrointestinal signs such as diarrhea, but also fever, lethargy, laminitis. In the case of our contaminated alfalfa, horses had swollen lips and tongue. This was a result of a plant like stinging nettles, one that causes contact dermatitis. A little bute as per our veterinarian and everyone was fine.
And last, but certainly not least, on the list of common questions is "What do they look like?"
I thought it would be helpful to document in picture form all the poisonous weeds on our farm. So here they are:
Pigweed:
"Poisonous plants" is a scary topic, but I hope to dispel your fears with a little education.
The questions that come to mind are:
1) How likely is it for my horse to get sick from poisonous plants?
2) How much does he have to eat to become ill?
3) How will I know he's been poisoned?
4) What do the poisonous plants look like?
Fortunately for us, small, private boarding facilities generally don't have a problem with poisonous plants when there is good management. You see most poisonings from horses eating hay that has been baled from a pasture full of these weeds or from horses eating the clippings of a freshly mowed pasture. Most poisonous weeds are thorny, smelly, and simply unappetizing, but that doesn't stop some horses from behaving quite opposite to their ancestors and feral counterparts.
So how likely is it for my horse to get sick from poisonous plants? Well, to all you number-nerds, I don't have the statistics, but it is a rare occurrence that a horse will consume enough of the poisonous plant in our pasture setting to get sick. The few poisonous weeds that we see commonly in our area are just not appealing to the equine pallet in the form of a live, growing weed. If they were dried and shredded and stuck in your horse's flake of coastal then you would definitely have need to worry! But have no fear, I know the weed management protocols of our hay grower and he does an excellent job of keeping weeds from his pastures.
Let's say your horse get bored, curious, or thoughtlessly consumes a poisonous weed. How much does she have to eat to become ill? The answer to this question varies from plant to plant, depending on toxicity. The part of the plant that contains the toxin also varies. Leaves, stem, berries, roots... But no matter which plant he's consumed, the treatment is very similar - supportive care in the form of fluids and alternatively, herbal remedies to detoxify.
So far we know that is it very unlikely for a horse to eat the unappetizing weeds, and even when curiosity overrides instinct the horse has to eat more than just a few bored nibbles. So when is it a real concern?
Well, when it's in the hay (or, in the case of our recent issue, when it's come into contact with the hay), or when there are fresh, shredded clippings after mowing.
Again, have no fear! I do not mow over the poisonous weeds for this very reason. Call me crazy, but I actually pull up and toss (into the woods) the poisonous weeds. We have so few that this is feasible.
And how will you know if your horse has been poisoned? Mainly gastrointestinal signs such as diarrhea, but also fever, lethargy, laminitis. In the case of our contaminated alfalfa, horses had swollen lips and tongue. This was a result of a plant like stinging nettles, one that causes contact dermatitis. A little bute as per our veterinarian and everyone was fine.
And last, but certainly not least, on the list of common questions is "What do they look like?"
I thought it would be helpful to document in picture form all the poisonous weeds on our farm. So here they are:
Pigweed:
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