Test your knowledge of poisonous plants
Can you spot the most dangerous plants in your horse’s environment? Take this 10-question quiz to find out.
Can you spot the most dangerous plants in your horse’s environment? Take this 10-question quiz to find out.
Poisoning horses---mainlyor Still, pastureit’s a from good grass toxic idea becausetend plantsto to be avoid those familiaris fortunatelyplantswith with accessthat the fairly smellto exceptionalamplerareor taste amonghay funny.cases and/ ---plants that are especially deadly, or those that may be more palatable and thus encourage horses to ingest a toxic amount. Some toxic plants are cultivated widely across the country. Many others grow wild, and their ranges may be limited to specific regions. Other plants are most hazardous mainly when cut into hay. Your local extension agent is a good source for information if you want to know more about which specific toxic plants s are a threat in your area. To get started, try this 10-question quiz to check your knowledge of some of the more hazardous plants your horse might encounter.
1.
A 1,000- pound horse needs to consume considerable quantities of most toxic plants to develop any ill effects. But as little as eight ounces of leaves from one shrub, commonly used in landscaping, can be deadly to a horse within minutes. What is it? a. azalea ( Rhododendron spp.) b. rhododendron ( Rhododendron spp.) c. yew ( Taxus spp.) d. Canadian hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis)
c. Yew is a woody evergreen shrub with closely spaced, flat leaves and bright red or yellow juicy berries with a hole at one end, exposing a dark seed. Most parts of the plant—including the leaves, branches and bark—contain taxine, an alkaloid that causes cardiac and respiratory collapse. A horse can get a deadly dose from just one mouthful of yew. To protect your horse, remove all yews from your property, and warn neighbors against tossing landscape trimmings into your turnouts. If you decorate your barn for the holidays, avoid garlands and wreaths that contain yew branches.
Azaleas and rhododendrons— which are commonly planted for their showy flowers—both contain toxins that can cause gastrointestinal and cardiovascular distress, but a horse would need to eat several pounds of the plants to experience any ill effects.
Canadian hemlock, also called eastern hemlock, is an evergreen tree or shrub with short, flattened leaves similar to those of the yew; one difference that distinguishes the two plants is that, instead of brightly colored berries, the hemlock tree produces oval cones that can be up to an inch long. The Canadian hemlock is not toxic.
It is also important to avoid confusing the Canadian hemlock tree with poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), a multistemmed weed with fernlike leaves and clusters of small white flowers. The weed contains a potent neurotoxin; eating four to five pounds would be fatal to a horse.
2.
Seasonal pasture myopathy ---a serious and often fatal acute muscle disorder--was long thought to be linked to the consumption of a weed called white snakeroot. However, in 2012, researchers announced that the disease is actually caused when horses consume which of these:
a. fescue grasses (Lolium [Festuca] arundinaceum) b. milkweed leaves ( Asclepias spp.) c. bananas ( Musa spp.) d. seedpods from box elder trees (Acer negundo)
d. Female box elders, also called ash maples or river maples, produce distinctive “helicopter” seedpods, which can be shed into pastures by the hundreds during the autumn