Acorns

[HashRouge]

Does anyone know if acorns are only a risk when green/ freshly fallen, or are they still palatable/ toxic once they've gone brown? My trees are absolutely laden with massive green acorns this year and I can just see my 29 year old licking her lips in delight (she's an acorn addict). I'm planning to fence the oak trees off, but they that will entail fencing off quite a lot of my field, as we've got a lot of them! But I don't know whether I'll be safe to open up those sections once the acorns have turned brown and started to rot, or whether I need to keep them out of bounds for longer OR do my best to clear up the acorns. Does anyone know?

 

[meleeka]

I wouldn’t risk it. Even without the toxins, there’s a real risk of impaction colic or choke. I tend to leave mine until they’ve all gone. You might have to feed more hay now, but you’ll be able to feed less later on when you do let them back on the fenced bit.

 

[HashRouge]

I wouldn’t risk it. Even without the toxins, there’s a real risk of impaction colic or choke. I tend to leave mine until they’ve all gone. You might have to feed more hay now, but you’ll be able to feed less later on when you do let them back on the fenced bit.

I've got a lot of grass, so not worried about that! Maybe I'll try and clear some of them up too. She's a horror - she would gorge on acorns if you let her!

 

[Yeomans]

I lost a mare to acorn impaction, only went to Tesco and away for 2 hours when I came back she was very unhappy, got her to the vets but was too late and had to have her put down. I am now so wary of acorns so please fence off and collect them up, it may take a bit of time but at least you will have a healthy horse.

 

[rabatsa]

If they love acorns then they will eat them in preference to grass. Rake them up and keep fenced off. My trees have been dropping their acorns for several weeks now and there are still lots more to drop.

 

[HashRouge]

If they love acorns then they will eat them in preference to grass. Rake them up and keep fenced off. My trees have been dropping their acorns for several weeks now and there are still lots more to drop.

When I said I had lots of grass so wasn't worried, I was responding to melee's comment about possibly needing to feed hay now. I didn't mean I wasn't worried about the acorns!
She's still on the summer field at the moment, where the oaks are fenced off. But she's moving to the winter field soon, where there are more oak trees.