Acorns & horses poisoning

[Armas]

I have a couple of big oak trees in the grounds, both horses have free range to rome during the day 30 acres thus there is plenty to eat.
My dilemma is Lotus keeps heading to one of the big oaks and seems to be eating the acorns where Lotus goes Armas follows and has now started to eat the acorns never an issue before grrrrrr dam that big bad brown influence.
I know that acorns are dangerous for horses, I don't want to fence of the trees as thats not an option. I am going to try and rake up the offending Acorns however they are constantly dropping so the odds are ill miss some.
How dangerous are acorn if the horses are also grazing and eating hay ??
I am also now worried yesterday I noticed yesterday Armas has a runny nose and is a bit drolly. I am now worried that its not a cold and is acorn poisoning.
Thoughts please before I call out the vet.

 

[Booboos]

Acorns cause liver damage and the effect is cummulative; it depends on how many acorns the horse eats, the size of the horse, how green the acorns were, etc. Many horses get addicted to eating them and won't stop so the safest thing is to either fence in the trees, or pick up the acorns, or create a turn out area for the horses away from the trees.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

you have 30 acres but can't fence off the trees, even temporarily with some tape? you might have to-I have the same problem, I just don't let the horses near them one way or another. some horses won't touch them, others will (and I have one).

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Horses can die from acorn poisoning it messes up their guts too. Oak leaves are also poisonous. Maybe use that field in winter after the acorns have been collected?

 

[shadeofshyness]

Can you not just section off the trees?

This link gives info on poisonous foliage in the uk - oak seems pretty lethal
http://www.horseweb-uk.com/features/plantmain.htm#o

 

[Cocorules]

I put up electric fencing round the oak trees in my fields when the acorns are dropping. A horse that can access too many can get poisoned quickly. Someone near us put a horse out with an oak tree at acorn time with relatively little other ground. It was dead within a week and suffered horribly before it was pts. I loathe electric fencing but feel it is essential if you have to live with oak trees.

You have a lot of other ground but if you have a horse with a taste for acorns (I have one that is obsessed with them) I do think you need to keep them away altogether as clearing them away even daily is not going to be sufficient.