Re: buttercups and other 'odd' horse foods
This message is from: Martie & John Bolinski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> We have sugar maple and 'swamp maple' (don't know the botanical name) plus sweet gum (which the horses do NOT like). Only one horse likes trees at all. The vet says his teeth are so bad in front from stripping the leaves through his front teeth. The middle teeth are almost non-existant. I have one red maple, but it is not accessable to the horses (we alway hope!) in a rock garden. He has evidently had this problem for some time as he came to us without those 2 front teeth. Martie [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Red maple is toxic to horses! Other maples don't seem to be a problem. Do > you know what kind of maple you have near your paddocks?
Re: buttercups and other 'odd' horse foods
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Red maple is toxic to horses! Other maples don't seem to be a problem. Do you know what kind of maple you have near your paddocks?
Re: buttercups and other 'odd' horse foods
This message is from: Martie & John Bolinski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I have been following the buttercup postings. We have a lot of buttercups and the horses do not seem to bother them. Even the Fjord, who eats almost anything else. But I DO have a horse that eats Poison Ivy, Wild Rose, Green Briars and Maple Tree leaves. Are these things toxic to horses? I can't imagine that any of this would taste good enough to eat! (I recently found out that the daylilies they were munching ARE good to eat, even for people - have had them in salad a few times; go figure). Martie, John and Kilar in HOT Maryland where summer has suddenly arrived with a vengeance. Got to post later about recent WONDERFUL drives with Kilar and bore everyone! I think we are finally learning to be a Team.
Buttercups
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Regarding buttercups...it is a toxic weed to horses if eaten in mass quantities. If it is the only forage in the paddock and the horse eats it without any grass they will get a belly ache. Most horses will avoid bitter plants like this if offered grass or hay as those a sweet and tasty. Some horses will eat it in small amounts if they like the taste or if they "need" it. As in for it's medicinal properties. I had an appy mare who always ate wild onions. I was worried b/c onions, like potatoes are poisonous to horses. I finally decided that as she was in a huge field with tons of grass, that either she really liked those onions or she was self medicating. Also...be careful when mowing grazing areas as the oil and gas are deposited on the grass as it is cut. That can be poisonous to horses too. Kate
RE: Buttercups--foal watch--coyotes
This message is from: Jeri L Rieger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Last year when Tana foaled, we had tons of coyotes roaming around. They even managed to gang up on our 250+ lb. ram and take him down and kill him! (We had three dogs roaming the property protecting the livestock and they couldn't protect him.) Anyways, we took the afterbirth to the furthest corner of our furthest field and buried it what we thought was very deep. That night, it was dug up! While we had no problems with the coyotes hassling either the mare or foal..I wouldn't trust them any further than I could throw them. Jeri in muggy missouri
Buttercups--foal watch--coyotes
This message is from: "Nathan Lapp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> We have a lot of buttercup weed in our pastures and are wondering if horses have been hurt by them. They are toxic and can cause abortions in cows--or at least that's what we have believed for generations. The second question is, are they still toxic when dry? The cows and horses leave them back when grazing but now we're cutting pastures and chopping them up for winter bedding supply. We noticed last winter the mares would eat the chopped bedding (nasty stuff!) when we restricted their hay. And, Viola is due in a week! "Foal watch fever" is afflicting Hannah and me. We have a question for the experienced horse people. Does a mare generally follow the same pattern of bagging and preparing to foal? Last year Viola had hardness in her bag and clear "milk" in her teats on her due date, but didn't foal till nearly three weeks later. She had been pasture bred, so may had a different breeding. The rest of Viola's story from last year seems funny now that I've read all of your foal watch posts. We were awfully inexperienced with horses but Hannah and I both are very accurate with predicting calvings in our Hostein cows, and attend nearly all of the 65 births per year. We thought we could tell when Viola was ready. Despite her bag, we weren't getting up at night to check her because she wasn't waxed and didn't have real milk. She was just staying the same, day after day after day. Then one evening I thought her "milk" looked a little cloudy and teats more full. I didn't even tell Hannah as she was away for the night, staying over with our neices whose parents had gone out of town. But then to be sure no bad mistakes happen when Hannah's not home I set my alarm clock for 2:30 am. When I got to the barn Viola's teats were packed full. I stayed to watch for a few minutes and she was, sure enough, in labor--so close I couldn't even go call Hannah on the phone. The foal arrived within 15 minutes, no problems. I think it was luck -- though I'd like to think I'm THAT good :) Now that we're watching again, last year's luck doesn't ease our anxiety much! Last evening coyotes or dogs got into our range chickens in broad daylight before we had cooped them in for the night. Six missing, five found dead. Then I remembered someone here said they had lost a foal to coyotes and I worried Viola would foal when we're not there. We keep her in a "night pasture" close to the barn, but these wild creatures are bold. I think we'll pen her indoors after this. Anybody else have foals coming yet this year? Barbara Lyn Lapp Lapp Family Fjords--in western New York where it's hot and dry and the strawberry season is over its peak
