This message is from: Robin Churchill rbc...@yahoo.com
There is an article from one of the vet schools where they successfully treated
a persimmon bezoar in a pony using nasogastrically instilled diet coke. The
people couldn't afford surgery so they just tried something. I think it took 2
or 3 cans to get the thing dissolved over a couple of days. I saw the original
article about it with the pictures but they actually published a paper on it in
one of the veterinary journals. Not that I am suggesting that you should let
your horses eat persimmons, apparently they are very dangerous because they do
cause bezoars which is like a mass that blocks the stomach. We have to be
vigilant every year here because I have mangoes and java plums both of which
the horses love. The mangoes are easier because they are in a little orchard
that I can close off but the java plums are all over and for about 2 months a
year we have to rake them up or the horses gorge on them and I am convinced
that is what made Ooruk colic
the first year here because I didn't know they were here then. We have had no
more problems since we started raking them up although they do eat some of them
because the trees are loaded and they are constantly falling. They will eat
the mangoes and interestingly, they peel off the skin and spit out the pit, we
keep the orchard closed and only let them in there after we pick up the fruit
on the ground. I am limited because of my property's size and the orchard has
good shade in the hot months, so we just have to keep it picked up.
Unfortunately, I don't like mangoes and we have 4 mango trees. Last year was a
bad year for them and I was happy.
Robin
- Original Message
From: pedfjo...@aol.com pedfjo...@aol.com
To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 12:18:43 AM
Subject: Persimmon's and horses
This message is from: pedfjo...@aol.com
long but good info. We have none here, but I guess that those down South
might store this info. Lisa * posted on the CD-List today.
Forwarded:
A Warning on Persimmons and Horses:
Our family has just lost two horses this week and 3 others are sick. We
did not know that Persimmon fruit was lethal to horses. Here are a few
Email excerpts from my wife on the details of what happened. While
searching the Web, i found a simular string on Persimmons at this site
and decided to continue getting the the word out.
Please advise everyone to check their pastures for persimmon trees. This
year is a bumper crop in Alpharetta Georgia. All of the animals in my
pasture have been very sick and two horses have spent the 10 days at
UGA. We now know that Persimmons can be very toxic to horses. They can
cause a blockage in the intestines and the seeds are toxic. When they
remain in the system too long they cause all kinds of problems you don't
want to deal with.
Look up, chances are the horses eat the fruit as soon as it hits the
ground. It has been about three weeks since my horse has ingested any
fruit and he is still sick, I am very concerned that other horses in the
area are ingesting this fruit as well. First signs of persimmon
poisoning I noticed was that my horse seemed lethargic and later he was
not interested in food then he went into a colic. It is my understanding
that small quantities of this fruit is not harmful but this year the
trees are full of fruit. If you suspect your horse has eaten to many
persimmons call a vet and have him oiled immediately. The longer the
seed remains in his system the sicker he will get.
UPDATE:
This is what we have learned about persimmons. There is not much
information out there. Two of the best vets in the Atlanta area knew
nothing about persimmons other than horses shouldn't eat'em, not to
mention the UGA staff knew nothing at the onset of our treatment.
The number of persimmons our horses ingested is uncertain. An article I
read said that 33 to 35 persimmons can cause a horse to develop a
blockage. We have an 8 acre pasture with really great grass. There were
4 average sized (6 inch in diameter at the trunk) persimmon trees in
the back of the pasture. The trees have been in this pasture forever. I
do not know if this year the fruit was any different than in years past.
We did find some information on line added to the autopsy results of
Duster we now know what happened. The persimmon fruit forms a ball of
skin seeds and mucous which hardens into a concrete textured mass in the
stomach or it could be anywhere in their system. This ball has the
texture of concrete with the sharp persimmon seeds embedded in it. After
the mass has formed it can not be broken down with oil or any kind
medication. Oiling is recommended if the horse has just ingested the
seeds in order to move them on out of the body. In our case we found out
a few weeks to late. The autopsy could not even show where the ball was
because it ripped everything up inside Dusters body. Horses that are
developing
