Grass Cuttings for horses ...What is your take on it ?....

[Gemsie]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

My friends 8 month old foal died because some well meaning idiot put a load of grass clippings over the fence for it to eat.

I would NEVER EVER allow my horses access to grass clippings.

The risk is simply not worth it.

Gem

 

[Echo Bravo]

Lost a really nice 2 year old from twisted gut, because some idiot had dumped grass cuttings over the hedge.

 

[Daffodil]

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!

I used to spend hours raking up the cuttings when my landlord topped his fields, particularly when lying in clumps. I might JUST not panic if the weather is baking, the cutting are a thin layer and dry like hay, but grass cuttings from a lawn mower NEVER.

 

[charliesarmy]

CMT what a worry.. but if your YO is willing to learn then she needs educating in these things

My aunt lost her gelding due to someone *probably thinking they were being nice* chucking there lawn clippings into his field he got a twisted gut and had to be pts!!

My fields back onto houses and I had to knock on one a few weeks ago to ask him to stop putting his mowings over his back fence as it was in reach of my horses especially the eat anything youngster..he didnt realise the implecations of his actions next day he came over a burnt it all...never done it since

 

[flowerlady]

In what way have i been lucky? it is cut with a knife, not a mower, no oil and not mulched up so doesn't ferment. In fact even the stuff she doesn't eat and gets put on the dung heap doesn't ferment, ermm it just looks like hay.

The fool who lives opposite me cut his fields and left some down for the horses to clear up. They ended up with grass sickness and 3 died. So I would not take the chance I'm afraid whethe it was caused by that or not it's not worth the risk in my opinion.

 

[TGM]

Whilst there is much debate over whether field toppings are safe for horses to eat, I've always thought the risk was colic, not grass sickness, but I see two people on this thread have mentioned the risk of grass sickness in relation to cut grass. Is there any scientific basis for this or just rural myth? I know on the grass sickness website they actually recommend hand cut grass be fed to recovering grass sickness cases!

 

[Chestnuttymare]

I think the point about grass cuttings is this - if it is mown grass, as in relatively short, and green, from a lawn type area and emptied out of a mower (as in the pics provided) in a heap then is it wet and piled up andwill ferment and give a horse colic. They will gobble it down in a big wet fermenting mass and all will not be well.

If the grass is long, and picked by hand or scissors or knife, and given to the horse to eat it will not be wet and short and mulchy and will not be gobbled in a big lump (it is long and coarser and drier and therefore needs chewing) and therefore will not be a problem.

The poster who cuts with a knife and puts in haynet is fine.

Thank you for that. I have been doing it for about 3 years and it hasn't caused a problem.

quote by Flowerlady :- fool who lives opposite me cut his fields and left some down for the horses to clear up. They ended up with grass sickness and 3 died. So I would not take the chance I'm afraid whethe it was caused by that or not it's not worth the risk in my opinion.
Today 09:39 AM


Flowerlady, you have just quoted my post when you referred to the farmer being a fool. This is nothing like what I am doing. Not sure if you are confused or whether you think that i am a fool also?

 

[flowerlady]

Be it myth or not I wouldn't risk it. Also I whenever I've tried to find what causes grass sickness it has not been definitely identified scientifically so I would still not take the chance. The only thing the one recovering would eat was cabbages. Nothing else

 

[nativetyponies]

Rough, long grass hand pulled, but not mowing grass clippings.

I always thought they were bad as they can ferment in the stomach, causing colic.

 

[flowerlady]

Thank you for that. I have been doing it for about 3 years and it hasn't caused a problem.

quote by Flowerlady :- fool who lives opposite me cut his fields and left some down for the horses to clear up. They ended up with grass sickness and 3 died. So I would not take the chance I'm afraid whethe it was caused by that or not it's not worth the risk in my opinion.
Today 09:39 AM


Flowerlady, you have just quoted my post when you referred to the farmer being a fool. This is nothing like what I am doing. Not sure if you are confused or whether you think that i am a fool also?

Sorry Chestnuttymare I meant to put it as a reply not a quote sorry.

 

[flowerlady]

Rough, long grass hand pulled, but not mowing grass clippings.

I always thought they were bad as they can ferment in the stomach, causing colic.

Thank you I began to think I was going barmy. It may be an old myth but then again a lot of sense comes from us old folks.

 

[nativetyponies]

Thank you I began to think I was going barmy. It may be an old myth but then again a lot of sense comes from us old folks.

I'm not yet 35.

Is that old?

 

[flowerlady]

I'm not yet 35.

Is that old?

No but you obviously listen to your elders

 

[nativetyponies]

No but you obviously listen to your elders

I was brought up to.

 

[TGM]

Be it myth or not I wouldn't risk it. Also I whenever I've tried to find what causes grass sickness it has not been definitely identified scientifically so I would still not take the chance. The only thing the one recovering would eat was cabbages. Nothing else

If I avoided every feedstuff that had a myth attached to it, my horses would starve, which is why I like to find out whether there is any basis to the 'myths'!

 

[Chestnuttymare]

ha ha right, no probs.

 

[flowerlady]

If I avoided every feedstuff that had a myth attached to it, my horses would starve, which is why I like to find out whether there is any basis to the 'myths'!

Have you found any basis as to not beleive it? Although some horses do recover they always seem weak compared to their previous state. Like I said TGM I wouldn't take that chance. Like with all horse related topics everyone has their own opinion. I wouldn't dream of telling anyone not to I just said I wouldn't as if it caused bad colic/grass sickness I would blame myself but everyone is entitled to their own opinion as are you.

 

[RunToEarth]

Extremely worrying reading this thread how many people either didn't know feeding grass mowings causes colic, or in their ignorance have said their horses have never got colic from being fed these, and so they will continue. When my horses escaped into another field neither of them were savaged by the massive amount of barbed wire- it doesn't mean I would turn them out in there again...
Honestly the only reason cows get along with silage so well is because they have four stomachs to digest the acids, it would be so much easier and cheaper to let mine mong out on silage if they could...

 

[Kenzo]

Never given grass cuttings for obvious reasons, something I was taught from being a small child.

However I have always given them long grass cut by a scythe or by hand, I used to enjoy trundling up the land with my haynet and filling full of lush grass and not being able to to carry it back because it was too heavy, hands covered in nettle stings...lurvely, but horses used to love it.

 

[TGM]

Have you found any basis as to not beleive it?

That's a bit round the wrong way somehow! So if I told you that feeding oats could cause sarcoids, wouldn't you want to question me to find out why I believed that? And if I said that I knew one person who had fed his horses oats and they had developed sarcoids, might you want to do a bit more research and ask me some more questions before deciding not to feed your own horses oats?

I wouldn't dream of telling anyone not to I just said I wouldn't as if it caused bad colic/grass sickness I would blame myself but everyone is entitled to their own opinion as are you.

So you didn't just tell one of the posters above that their horse was lucky to survive her feeding hand cut grass then? I agree everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but it does help others to understand your point of view and not dismiss it out of hand, if you can provide sensible evidence for your belief.

 

[flowerlady]

That's a bit round the wrong way somehow! So if I told you that feeding oats could cause sarcoids, wouldn't you want to question me to find out why I believed that? And if I said that I knew one person who had fed his horses oats and they had developed sarcoids, might you want to do a bit more research and ask me some more questions before deciding not to feed your own horses oats?




So you didn't just tell one of the posters above that their horse was lucky to survive her feeding hand cut grass then?

TGM Whats your problem???

I actually said I thought they had been very lucky.

Where did I say to survive????????????????

 

[Natch]

Anyone know of any official research or papers or even an official line from BHS, WHW etc as to the reason why not?

I hasten to add i certainly do not do it myself. although this thread has reminded me to get a pair of scissors to the thistles in Frank's field, since he loves them cut

(Go on, somebody tell me that is evil?!)

As for topping, we were told at a field management event (can't remember who it was hosted by but a definately trusted and not biased name) that topped fields should be left until the toppings had rotted/blown away before horses should graze them.

 

[TGM]

Rough, long grass hand pulled, but not mowing grass clippings.

I always thought they were bad as they can ferment in the stomach, causing colic.

Thank you I began to think I was going barmy. It may be an old myth but then again a lot of sense comes from us old folks.

I think you have missed the point entirely! As I said earlier in the thread, I quite agree that lawn-mowings are a known colic risk - in fact I even explained WHY they are! What I was questioning was where the link to grass sickness came in, especially as you seemed to link that to hand cut grass as well as lawn-mowings!

 

[RunToEarth]

I also used to be a thistle feeder (as Oshk loves them) but one day was told by a less than amused, angry looking farmer, Daddy, that feeding thistles to my horse was all very well and good, until those little seeds went into his tummy, and then eventually back into the field to make more thistles that he is continually trying to irradicate from dairy pasture.... Ooops.

 

[TGM]

TGM Whats your problem???

Eh. Why do I have to have a problem just because I wanted to find out more between a possible link between cut grass and grass sickness??

 

[flowerlady]

I think you have missed the point entirely! As I said earlier in the thread, I quite agree that lawn-mowings are a known colic risk - in fact I even explained WHY they are! What I was questioning was where the link to grass sickness came in, especially as you seemed to link that to hand cut grass as well as lawn-mowings!

The first quote was not me. I never mentioned lawn-mowings. Please do not keep misquoting me and move on I said

The fool who lives opposite me cut his fields and left some down for the horses to clear up. They ended up with grass sickness and 3 died. So I would not take the chance I'm afraid whether it was caused by that or not it's not worth the risk in my opinion.

Note the in my opinion

 

[TGM]

I included the first quote because yours was in reply to it, and yours didn't make sense without it as you were agreeing with the first quote!!

I give up - was just trying to have a constructive debate!

 

[jaypeebee]

I give up - was just trying to have a constructive debate!

Well I was interested TGM because I have never heard of a link between grass cuttings and grass sickness either so I was hoping to be provided with some factual basis to this story or at least something to give it credibility.

 

[Natch]

I also used to be a thistle feeder (as Oshk loves them) but one day was told by a less than amused, angry looking farmer, Daddy, that feeding thistles to my horse was all very well and good, until those little seeds went into his tummy, and then eventually back into the field to make more thistles that he is continually trying to irradicate from dairy pasture.... Ooops.

Um... yeah... er.... you make a very good point

Dammit now I'm going to be cutting thistles and carefully removing the heads

 

[skychick]

Lawn mower clippings ..... MASSIVE NO NO. when i was little my friends welsh sec b got out of her paddock and into the compost area where her dad used to put the grass clippings and stuffed her face on them and got serious colic from them and had to be PTS it was awful.

Long grass cut and put into a field or stable is ok i believe, as long as its fresh, contains no poisonous plants and isnt piled up high and left for days.

Well this is what i was taught as a kid, so please correct me if im wrong.