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

[RunToEarth]

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



Note the in my opinion

My old horse had grass sickness a few years ago. I was worried it was linked to him escaping a week earlier and eating a small amount of fresh silage(treated).
my VET (whose advice I believe is well founded) said the two could not be connected, grass sickness is thought to be caused by a soil borne bacterium, and if he had eaten grass clippings I would have known about it pretty quickly as he would have shown signs of colic- luckily he was ok.
This is my evidence that the two are not connected, although I would never feed mown grass anyway.
Cut grass is provided by most of the bigger county shows, it has been for many years, I have, since been a tot, had the job of going and grabbing a barrow full before it goes at GYS. I have never known a sick horse as a result of this.

 

[Aniseed]

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.

That's an interesting theory. I wrote a paper a couple of years ago on the potential causes of Grass Sickness and I don't think grass clippings ever came up as a cause. No one seems to know exactly what causes it but the theory when I did my research seemed to point to a bacteria in the soil which I think was called Clostridia Botulinium and is similar to the bacteria that causes botulisim in humans.

It appears that there may be a number of factors that trigger the disease in horses that graze this land and I would be interested to hear if anybody has any scientific evidence that shows feeding grass clippings to be a trigger.

Flowerlady have you had a look on the grass sickness website to see if you are in one of the areas where there has been an outbreak of the disease?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Holy **** Col, that's something I was taught when I was about five!!! Wouldn't be a happy bunny about that, at all...but it is a nice wee yard...

 

[MontyandZoom]

No one knows what causes grass sickness........despite spending thousands of pounds researching it.

However, extensive studies have been carried out and would surely indicate if the cause was in any way related to cut grass??? I have never heard of that before! My understanding was that the most widely accepted theory (by vets) was a bacterium in the soil.

 

[Godknows]

Sorry wrong thread

 

[Colleen_Miss_Tom]

Cheers to all those that have replied .....This quote below is supposedly by a horse vet ...

"Grass clippings allowed to accumulate and decay in a pile will provide a suitable substrate for Clostridium botulinum (botulism bug). In the same way, silage allowed to ferment at the wrong pH will also allow growth of the bug, and so incorrectly prepared big-bale silage causes botulism. The bacteria grow in the plant matter and form the botulism toxin, which is then ingested causing botulism. How long it takes the toxin to form will depend on speed of multiplication of the bacteria, which in turn depends on the moisture and the environmental temperature (which affect pH). In spring with nice moist grass I wouldn't expect it to take long.

Botulism in horses is frequently fatal, causing flaccid paralysis (weakness of the muscles) and dysautonomia (a bit like grass sickness but not). Symptoms usually depend on the amount of toxin ingested - large quantities will cause almost sudden death, modest quantities will cause weakness, tremors and gradual paralysis of the jaw and muscles involved in breathing (leading to eventual suffocation). In horses colic is often the first sign, sometimes resembling grass sickness, or in milder cases choke may be seen first (food becomes impacted in the oesophagus - not to be confused with human choking, which is in the trachea). Only the mild cases will survive, with early agressive therapy being key.
"

 

[Pidgeon]

always taught not to feed grass cuttings as causes colic.
Did a lot of research into GS as lost Higgs to this just over 5 years ago. Have NEVER heard of a link between GS and eating grass cuttings though! It is pretty much thought to be caused by Clostridium Botulisim (sp?) in the soil and tips are to avoid disturbing the soil too much especially during peak months of May and September. Also best to provide some hay/haylage in the field which helps prevention, avoid stress, avoid mechanical poo pickers as these disturb the soil etc.
Sorry to the person who posted about a link between GS and grass cuttings but please make sure of your facts before posting these things as lots of people may well take it as gospel

 

[TGM]

Thanks CMT - that was the sort of thing I was after and very interesting to read. So it is definitely the fermentation that is the worry with botulism, which would mean hand cut grass fed straight to the horse is not a risk factor. I wonder how many suspected grass sickness cases are actually botulism, which is why there is so much confusion. Presumably, not everybody has a post mortem done, so there is not always a firm diagnosis.

 

[Colleen_Miss_Tom]

Thanks CMT - that was the sort of thing I was after and very interesting to read. So it is definitely the fermentation that is the worry with botulism, which would mean hand cut grass fed straight to the horse is not a risk factor. I wonder how many suspected grass sickness cases are actually botulism, which is why there is so much confusion. Presumably, not everybody has a post mortem done, so there is not always a firm diagnosis.

I was actually going to send the above quote to my YO .

She is a smart lady .....perhaps not the most knowledgable when it comes to certain aspects of horses but I think it highlights the dangers of what grass "mowings" can do .


Col x

 

[Aniseed]

Thanks CMT thats really interesting. I wonder if there is a link between grass clippings and GS then, considering the same bacterium is associated. Where did you find that quote?

 

[TGM]

Sounds like a good idea - I'm sure she will make sure that it doesn't happen again if you explain WHY mown grass is such a risk. She probably originally thought that as grass is what horses eat then it was fine, but if she understands how quickly mowings ferment and the risks associated with that she will be more careful in future.

 

[CastleMouse]

A major no-no!

 

[Colleen_Miss_Tom]

Sounds like a good idea - I'm sure she will make sure that it doesn't happen again if you explain WHY mown grass is such a risk. She probably originally thought that as grass is what horses eat then it was fine, but if she understands how quickly mowings ferment and the risks associated with that she will be more careful in future.

Well lets hope so for the sake of my horse and her life


Col x