Eucalyptus leaves in round bale of hay

[MDB]

I have just had delivered a round bale of hay which I have discovered, after the horses were at it for a few hours, is full of dried eucalyptus leaves.
Slightly concerned now. How much do horses need to ingest to develop symptoms of poisoning?

 

[silv]

I would be surprised if they ate the leaves to be honest, it's quite common here for hay to have eucalyptus leaves in, they tend to pick around them. Horses graze in fields with these trees including my own, I have never worried about it, they are so widespread here.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have just had delivered a round bale of hay which I have discovered, after the horses were at it for a few hours, is full of dried eucalyptus leaves.
Slightly concerned now. How much do horses need to ingest to develop symptoms of poisoning?

We have eucalyptus trees in our fields and never had an issue, even used to chew the bark of it.

 

[Shay]

Most folk on here will not have any issue with Eucalyptus as it doesn't grow in the UK! Most horses avoid eucalyptus but if it is dried and they are hungry enough they may eat anything. But other than one or two species it is only a contact poison - it will cause skin blistering, but not a gastric poison.

If your horses are otherwise well fed simply clear up and throw away the eucalyptus they leave. But if they are hungry enough to eat something that burns then you need to know the species (which will depend at least in part on where your hay was harvested ) to know if it is an issue. Eucalyptus seems to be an invader species in Spain and is mainly blue Eucalyptus - but you should check to be sure.

I kept horses in a blue eucalyptus field in SA for years with no problem - they didn't pick at the leaves as they had enough forage that was more appetizing. But there are a couple of species in AUS which are gastric toxins. On the whole if the horses are reasonably well fed I would not worry about it - they'll leave the leaves.

 

[Northern]

Just think of it like this: if eucalypt leaves were poisonous, no one in Australia would be able to keep horses

100% they won't eat them - they are disgusting anyway!

 

[Lois Lame]

Most folk on here will not have any issue with Eucalyptus as it doesn't grow in the UK!

It probably does grow in the UK. Why not? Our Snow Gum, Eucalyptus pauciflora, is probably there on holidays right now.

Anyhow, I suspect the horses will sort out the Eucalyptus leaves from the rest.