Horses eating ferns

[mynameiscasey]

My horse had leant over into neighbourse field and was eating ferns, is this harmful??

 

[hadfos]

Bracken isnt good for them!!

 

[mynameiscasey]

What side effects does it have though?

 

[hadfos]

This may help...
http://www.horseweb-uk.com/features/plantmain.htm
Not nice stuff

 

[mynameiscasey]

Well thats not good :S

 

[BankEndRescue]

the spores in dying bracken are carcinogenic so best not to allow the nags to eat them

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Well thats not good :S

[/ QUOTE ]
Its horrid stuff,i remember once a yard owner that sprung a field in the woods on us one day,full of the stuff

,i told her to piss off no way was my horse going out on that,she claimed it was harmless...we left pretty sharpish,i left him in till we did!!

 

[Donkeymad]

Ferns are toxic, just like ragwort, the more they eat the worse it gets. The little eaten today should do no harm, but stop them getting any more.