ACORN WARNING

ticobay831

ticobay831

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I have just read on another forum that someone has lost their beloved horse to acorn poisoning, even though she was very carefull and took precausions, i supose the high winds that have been around latly havent helped, i know my winter paddock is covered in them at the moment, but i will make sure i get very single one up now, before i turn my horse out on it.
I read last week that there are more around this year than normal, please take the time to collect them up from you grazing land, i knew they were quite bad for horses but didnt realise they were that bad :-(
 
Very few horses will actually eat acorns but those that do will pig out in them but it is not a 'sudden' poisoning but takes time to build up the toxins and there are clear signs, like weight loss, listlessness as well as seeing the horse hoovering them up.
 
The mare that was lost to acorn poisoning recently that I read about on another forum had a fatal reaction to the acorns - in can affect individual horses in different ways it seems, so really is not worth the risk. Please don't think that this can't happen in a very short space of time.

It is a really bad year for acorns, and as our grazing is surrounded by oak trees I have had to fence off a very large area of my field.
 
If you're talking about a horse in Hertfordshire, just hold up. One has been confirmed via a pm that it was acorn poisoning, the other is being autopsied this week.
 
cinammontoast said:
If you're talking about a horse in Hertfordshire, just hold up. One has been confirmed via a pm that it was acorn poisoning, the other is being autopsied this week.
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No - completely different county to Herts. Confirmed on post mortem that horse's stomach was full of acorns. So sad. The family are devastated.
 
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My cob loves acorns im lucky they dont effect him though i do try and pick them up best i can my other horses i dont let them near them. Because im not sure with them. My sister lost her arab to them though and he only had a few before we relised. I wouldnt allow any of my horses near them now just incase. I think the greener they are the worse they are could be wrong
 
Yes apparently the green ones are high in tannins which can affect the liver and kidney function of horses, as well as gastroenteritis, and potentially affecting the ability to digest protein. So a quick google has informed me anyway.
 
I did post this on another thread, this person posted on another forum to warn people of the dangers.

"On Friday night I lost my horse of a lifetime to acorn poisoning. I had read recent warnings, and I thought I was guarding against it by bringing my horse in at night to limit his time in the field, to fill him up with hay so he wouldn't eat them, and I gave him a liver tonic to boost his system. It wasn't enough. I'm pasting below what I posted on another forum on Saturday. I need you to understand how terrible it can really be so that you can protect your horses. I honestly didn't have any idea just how serious it could be.

On Friday I got to the yard around 6:45 and he was laying down in the stable. I knew instantly something was wrong as he would always be up before my engine was off. The stable light wasn't working but I could see his back legs were dirty. I got him up and out and was on the phone to my vet straight away. While he was tied up he did a liquid poo that was almost entirely blood. I put him back in the box and fetched a friend as I was quickly losing it, almost in hysterics as I knew it just didn't look good.

The vet finally came at 7:30. It was'nt good and she tried to suggest pts right there. I had to give him a chance so YO went to start lorry and we got him on. He was happy to walk, he knew we were trying to help him.

I travelled standing next to him stroking him to whole way. It was the longest journey of my life though YO drove as fast as she could. We took him to the vet college as that's the closest.

We mus have arrived around 8:30. They took him and we had to wait. They put him on drips to rehydrated and blood transfusions. At around 10:30 we could see him. He had perked up and had some hayelge but vet said he only had a 10% chance. We were told to go home and wait for her call in the morning.

Sadly she called at 3, that he had gone downhill and we should come in. My friend drove my mum and I there. He was so poorly, clammy and shaking and I knew they had cleared the blood out before they let us in. There was no option, no choice so we had to say goodbye and he was pts. I didn't stay, I didn't want to remember him that way.

They will do a post mortem on Monday, but I think it was acorns. I don't know how I can forgive myself, I feel that I failed to protect him and keep him safe.

I'm totally and utterly devastated. He was my first and only horse, my family, my best friend and my world. I honestly don't know what we will do without him. I still can't quite comprehend the situation, I'm struggling to make sense of it all. How is it possible for it to happen so fast? He was only 11, he had so much left to do.

I'm not a religious or spiritual person, but he truly touched my soul. He was such a special horse, we were so close and I always knew he was looking after me.

I don't know how I am going to move forward. He has left a gaping hole in our lives. I know I have to have horses in my life but I don't know how I'll do that. Saw some yesterday and had to run away. I feel that I need to spend time with horses soon as otherwise it will be too late and too hard but I don't know how. Trio was always my healer and now he is gone.

I always believed he was with me for a reason. He taught me so much. But I just don't feel his job was done. I jus have to try and believe that fate felt it was his time and I just have to try and remember him for who he was.

You just don't think it will ever happen to you. I always thought he would be with me into his 20s, mum said that she thought they would grow old together. I can't understand that he's gone. I thought he would be the 10% that pulled through.

RIP my beautiful wonderful boy. You were so much loved and cherished, we would have done anything and everything for you. You gave us the world and you will always be in our hearts. "
 
Thank you for this thread.

There is an oak tree in the winter field our horse's are due to go in. I was going to go and scoop up the acorns before they go in, but I'll start today and check everyday. The tree offers a lot of protection, so it would be good for the horse's to be able to stand under it - does anyone know when the acorns stop falling?
 
Foxhunter49 said:
Very few horses will actually eat acorns but those that do will pig out in them but it is not a 'sudden' poisoning but takes time to build up the toxins and there are clear signs, like weight loss, listlessness as well as seeing the horse hoovering them up.
Click to expand...

I've never known a horse that WON'T pig out on acorns if they can get to them. Luckily my paddock has no oak trees, but many of the others do, and it's a nightmare for the owners (or for us, when we see that they simply WON'T do anything about it, and their horses are happily crunching away on acorns galore).
 
The gelding who was lost last week sadly belonged to a good friend and client of mine and I can vouch for the fact there were NO warning signs that you could have spotted. Some horses are just really susceptible. Such a sad loss and a shockingly violent way to lose a horse. Please don't take risks with acorns.
 
As I have also mentioned on another thread, Acorns are a risk to all horses and I can also confirm two deaths in the last month alone which are purely down to acorns... Do NOT take that risk x
 
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