Acorns!!

Cazza525

Cazza525

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I know they're poisonous if consumed in large quantities, but what do you lot really think?? I've never had a problem, but i do have an oak tree in one of my paddocks, should i fence it off? There is plenty else to eat btw.......
 
I fence mine off. End up feeling guilty though as the only decent overheard shelter are the oak trees.

I often wonder if raking them up twice a day would be enough. I could leave a pile outside the field gates for the squirrels to find.
 
The really large, mature trees produce very few acorns so if it's one of those you might be fine. The smaller ones produce tonnes every day. I had to pick up two buckets a day from three little trees until we got round to fencing them off. Most horses will eat acorns and some get totally addicted to them.
 
I shall never forget a pony at the R/S who gorged on acorns & died . It was the long , hot summer of 1976 & I heard a vet say that for some reason they were particularly lethal that year
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Same pony had been grazing in same field for years without harm , until then .
 
I have 3 acorn trees in my field, 2 on the edges and one right in the middle!

The one in the middle, as Patches says, provides excellent shelter and shade. This is the only oak tree they currently have access to.

I am watching mine closely and as soon as I see the acorns really start to develop it will be fenced off, within the next 2 weeks I would expect. It will be fenced off until all the acorns have been taken away by birds / squirrels or sunk into the mud.
 
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ok, ok, i'm fencing off tomorrow!! Just needed a little shove in the right direction!!

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Sorry - didn't mean to alarm you ! The same ponies were ridden daily in Epping Forest & consumed ferns like they were goung out of fashion . We were told to attempt to pull the ferns out of their mouths , but mainly because it made their bits messy - the instructors said they ( the ponies) had built up an immunity to them . None of them ever suffered any ill-effects
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fence off for certain my boy became ill on them if you think your horse has eaton any give him a course of naf de tox that will flush him out thats what i did!
 
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ok, ok, i'm fencing off tomorrow!! Just needed a little shove in the right direction!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry - didn't mean to alarm you ! The same ponies were ridden daily in Epping Forest & consumed ferns like they were goung out of fashion . We were told to attempt to pull the ferns out of their mouths , but mainly because it made their bits messy - the instructors said they ( the ponies) had built up an immunity to them . None of them ever suffered any ill-effects
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When they are young and tender they are not so bad, it's when the spores develop they are worst. Apparently a horse needs to consume 3% of their bodyweight (so about 13kg for your average horse!!) to reach a toxic level. I looked into it pretty extensively as they are rampant here.

We also have mature oaks dropping acorns in the garden, which is a pain as I can't let the horses in to eat the grass at the moment.
 

Horses DO need to eat a lot for it to be a problem, however, they can develop a taste for them and actively seek them out (as my mare did) - never did her any harm, but I used to fence off/sweep them up anyway - for my own peace of mind!
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hmmm-I-am-going-to-fence-both-trees-off-in-our-field-as-I-THINK-MY-COB-MIGHT-BE-EATING-THE-ACORNS.

Thing-is-they-have-been-in-this-field-5-years-and-havent-had-a-problem-before-Can-they-get-immune-to-them
 
I don't think it's the toxicity of acorns that is the problem as much as the possibility of impaction colic if the horse gorges on them - but it has the same results!
 
Have seen two die of acorn poisoning, years apart so not connected. Tis horrible, so I personally would be fencing off. On that subject, I was pleased to see the owners across the way clearing them up from a small paddock....... then very dismayed to see them throw them into the main field FOR THE HORSES TREAT. Who promptly hoovered up the lot.

For god's sake.................
 
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