What Plants Are Most Poisonous for Horses?

Many wild and cultivated trees and plants can be dangerous for horses, particularly if equines actually eat the vegetation.

What are the top 66 toxic plants for horses to avoid?

Sixty-six plants that may be toxic to horses are listed here in alphabetical order. These poisonous plants may include flowers, ground vegetation, shrubs and trees.

In some cases, only certain parts of a plant may prove toxic to horses. For example, the blossoms, fruit, leaves, nuts, roots, stems or seeds may be poisonous. With other flora, the entire plant may be dangerous to equines.

Here are the top 66 most poisonous plants for horses to avoid:

African rue

Avocado

Azalea

Bamboo

Black cherry

Black walnut

Boxwood

Bracken

Buckwheat

Buttercup

Castor bean

Chokecherry

Cocklebur

Coffee weed

Cotton

Death camas

Fern palm

Fiddleneck

Foxglove

Goldenchain

Hellebore

Hemlock

Henbane

Holly

Horsetail

Hydrangea

Indian paintbrush

Jessamine

Laburnum

Lantana

Larkspur

Laurel

Locoweed

Locust

Lupine

Mandrake

Meadow saffron

Mesquite

Milk vetch

Milkweed

Mustard

Nightshade

Oak

Oleander

Onion

Peach

Photina

Plum

Poison ivy

Pokeweed

Potato

Privet

Purple sesbane

Ragwort

Rattlebox

Red maple

Rhododendrum

Round ivy

Sorghum

St. John's wort

Staggergrass

Tobacco

White snakeroot

Wild cherry

Wild pea

Yew

Certain plants, although not technically toxic, may also be undesirable for horse consumption. Sharp plants like burrs, nettles and thistles can harm horses by causing oral or digestive injuries or discomfort.

Other vegetation, such as Couchgrass and Yorkshire Fog, have little nutritional content, making them pasture nuisances.

What can you do, if your horse eats a poisonous plant?

First, it is important to recognize the symptoms of possible poisoning in a horse. Equine symptoms of toxicity may include agitation, colic, constipation, diarrhea, increased heart rate, lethargy, loss of appetite, trembling and overall unsteadiness. In the most severe cases, a horse may even collapse suddenly to the ground.

Equine poisoning is considered a veterinary emergency. A horse or pony is unable to vomit, so equine poisoning requires immediate professional medical care.

The best course, of course, is to prevent horses from gaining access to plants that may prove toxic or harmful to them.

How can you prevent your horse from eating a poisonous plant?

Generally, horses that are allowed to graze freely will naturally select the most favorable clovers, grasses, hays and other forage. However, horses have been known to eat toxic plants, particularly when nutritious options run out.

Poisonous plants should be removed - by the roots - and burned or taken far from horse pasture areas, so that they will not reseed or return.

Sources:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control

http://www.equisearch.com

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems

http://www.manesandtailsorganization.org

http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com

http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com

http://www.whmentors.org