Grass sickness

[Alice100]

Hello

Does anyone know - are there any links between grass root disturbance and grass sickness?

Many thanks

 

[aimeetb]

I think that disturbing the soil can bring any bacteria that is present lower down in the soil to the surface so it accessible to the horses to injest. I think :/ xxx

 

[Alice100]

Thank you

 

[rachel12]

IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!

The more that awareness is spread the better!!!!!! My horse Magners died from this horrible disease (Wiltshire area). I am trying my best to spread awareness to all horse owners. Please read up on Grass Sickness and tell others about it. See:

http://www.grasssickness.org.uk/

I also have a GS facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=...90680500978828

Please Join and add as many friends as you can

Thank You so much (Nearly 300 members now)
Rachel

 

[rachel12]

http://www.ed.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.18064!fileManager/dvepfactsheet-grasssickness.pdf

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

The link is recognised to the point that the use of mechanical, drive along poo vacuum machines is not advised.

 

[Birker2020]

As BOF says quite rightly anything mechanical used in the paddock particuarly if it has a sweeping action will disturb soil so there is an additional possibility that this could cause a case of grass sickness. Also to be avoided are fields that have recently had soil disturbance due to mechanical digging to lay pipes, install XC jumps, that type of thing.

Currently soil disturbance is not advised in fields/paddocks that contain equines, but this advice alone is not guaranteed to either avoid grass sickness. Instead it is merely that it has been recognised from data supplied to the Grass Sickness Organisation through owners of affected horses by correlating all the information that GS is a common occurence under these circumstances. Does that make sense??