Acorns and poisoning.

arwenplusone

arwenplusone

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 January 2007
Messages
6,160
Location
York
www.freewebs.com
I have an oak tree in my mare's field which I am unable to fence off- I remove the acorns as much as I can and I have never seen her eating them.

Until tonight
shocked.gif
confused.gif


Unfortunately as I understand they can be addictive once a horse tries them. Tonight I went up in the dusk & she was actively seeking them out and crunching on them. I chucked a load of hay in the field to distract her as I couldn't see to get any of the acorns up. This seemed to work.

Now I know acorn poisoning is rare and I know the symproms to look out for but I can only assume she has been eating them regularly so I can't help worrying!
crazy.gif


Anyone experienced this?

frown.gif
 
my shetland who is 23 has a liking for them.i try to graze the area by the tree very short before the acorns fall,then i fence it off and try to sweep them with a broom.it`s quite flat cos the horses sleep under the tree a lot.
we seem to have a squirrel invasion at the mo,so hopefully they will take them all away.
 
Mine seek them out to, I'm sure they do it when they know I'm watching so they can laugh at me jumping up and down and going 'spit that out, spit it out...' ! I fence them off the best I can with electric fencing and pick up the acorns and leaves as offen as poss.

I think symproms are simlar to colic as it causes stomach pains, a girl I knew when I was in my teens had to have her loan horse pts due to acorn poisoning so it's something I worry abot allot
 
Acorns are toxic to horses but it is rare for a small number to cause a problem, esp if they have other food to eat. If it carries on raining they wont be tempting for long, I would carry on the distracting for a few days and pick up any you do track down, but not panic as they dont build up in the system like ragwort, they either cause the prob or not if you get me.
 
Acorns are very dangerous.

several years ago a good friend of mine lost her arab to acorn poisoning. He develoved a taste for them through accidental grazing and then was seen picking them off the lover branches himself.

It destroyed his liver, and was eventually pts after several poorly months.
 
If it makes you feel better, I know horses who have been eating them unchecked for years with no apparent adverse effects.
I'd fence the tree off (electric tape with a few posts?) or pick them up if you can though.
S
grin.gif
 
That does make me feel a bit better - for tonight at least! I have visions of awful colic
frown.gif


The tree is right by the gate so no real way of fencing off - perhaps I will go & give the thing a good shake & collect them all tomorrow....
 
I had this prob with my mare, she developed a bit of a taste for them, tried putting hay out she would just eat that then go eat the acorns, YO refused to let me fence off the tree or move her away from them, so I very swiftly moved yards - not worth the risk IMO.
I'd defo have a look at trying to fence it off somehow or move fields.
 
Two of ours decided to start snacking on the fallen acorns in our field a couple of years ago. We were rather concerned and tried our best to get as many up as possible but it was a very lareg crop that year for some reason. Funnil the other two horses - who have been in the field for years were not interested at all. We noticed the two 'culprit's' poos were v v brown and full of shiny acorn shells.

Fortunately - after we cleared most of the acorns up and covered the rest in earth etc they left alone (there's tonnes of grass in our field so god knows why they started on them in the first place - nosey I guess!) We did ask the vet and he said not to be concerned if they're eating the brown, fallen acorns. It is when they are still green that they are toxic. So, if you horse is actually taking them off the tree then I would try either fence it off as best you can or physically remove the lower - within-reach-of-your horse acorns!
 
the best thing to do is fence it off if you can! they are awful and can cause alot of seroius problems. the best thing i did for my boys coz he loved eating them was buy some detox from naff not exspensive that will flush out the harmfull toxins its works well make sure you use the full tube!
 
You can fence the gateway off (and the tree) with leccy fencing ..... and put a gateway in.... that way you just lead the horse over the acorns..

Will keep your gateway less muddy too
smile.gif
smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top