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As Drought Takes Over, Beware The Signs Your Horse Has Ingested A Poisonous Plant

The pastures were recently cleared from overgrown trees and brush, and Kris Hiney, PhD, Oklahoma State University assistant professor and Extension equine specialist, closely looked over the brush piles to make sure no poisonous plants or trees had surfaced. “All clear,” she thought as she let her two horses back into the field.

“The very next day, they were already showing toxicity symptoms,” Dr. Hiney said. “It turns out I did have black locust trees in the pasture, and when the horses had a chance to get to them, it almost killed them.”

Of the two horses, one had lower tolerance to the toxic tree. His heart rate was elevated over 90 for a full 24 hours and to save his life, he required three days of supportive care in the veterinary clinic. Luckily, both horses survived.

Horse owners need to be familiar with poisonous plants and signs of toxicity. There are many poisonous grasses, plants and trees that can gravely impact horse health, such as black locust trees, Johnsongrass, white clover, maple trees, locoweed, tansy ragwort and black walnut trees. Fescue grass can be toxic to broodmares and their foals, causing thickened placentas and even abortions. Look to this University of Minnesota poster for pictures of poisonous plants and to better understand signs of toxicity.

Watch for these common toxicity symptoms:

Change in behavior
Anxiety
Depression
Neurologic issues
Seizure
Abnormal gait
Tremors
Stocking up or founder
Elevated heart rate
Brown or discolored urine
Mouth blisters
Colic

If horse owners fear their horse might have ingested a poisonous plant, “Call a veterinarian immediately,” Dr. Hiney said. “If horses do not receive the right care, toxicity can be a big deal. Death is often a real possibility.”

As the weather affects forage available to horses in turnout situations (especially with summer drought or winter conditions), horses are more inclined to ingest unfamiliar plants or leaves. To help prevent plant toxicity, make sure horses have adequate rations of quality hay or grass in front of them. Dr. Hiney encourages horse owners to work closely with their county extension agent to identify potentially harmful grasses, plants or trees that may surface in their pastures. Horse owners can also invest in a spray system to eliminate unwanted plants and weeds.

“Anytime there is something novel in their pasture, horses are going to investigate it,” Dr. Hiney warned. “I thought everything in my pasture was safe, but it turns out I was wrong. Be very careful, and take a look at what is accessible to the horses.”

Continue learning about horse care, with additional information from veterinarian-founded Valley Vet Supply.

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Potentially Life-Threatening COVID “Cure” Sees Dewormer Sales Surging

Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have repeatedly warned the public against using ivermectin as a COVID-19 “cure,” the United States is seeing a massive increase in dewormer purchases from livestock farm and feed stores.

Many stores that sell dewormer have added verbiage to the products that indicate that they are not safe for human consumption and are an unproven cure for COVID-19; other stores have removed ivermectin products from their shelves completely.

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Ivermectin first came on the radar as a possible “cure” for COVID in 2020, when Monash University researchers reported that the drug could kill coronavirus in 48 hours in a lab setting. Though researchers at the Australian institution stressed that further testing was needed to establish the effectiveness and dosage of the drug, the public began seeking out ivermectin.

To date, completed studies on the efficacy of ivermectin are small and not considered of sufficient quality by researchers, though there are several studies currently underway. Reliable evidence doesn't support ivermectin use as a treatment or prophylactically for COVID-19.

Human-grade ivermectin is approved by the FDA for treatment of some parasitic worms and of some external parasites. Animal-grade ivermectin is not approved or dosed for humans and should never be ingested by humans. Side effects of taking livestock-grade ivermectin include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, skin rash, facial or limb swelling, decreased blood pressure, liver problems and neurologic issues like dizziness and seizures.

Surprise: Paint Horse Admitted To Equine Hospital Gets Unusual Diagnosis

Companero, a 26-year-old American paint horse, was referred to the Virginia Tech Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center for emergency colic evaluation. The gelding's primary care veterinarian, Dr. Kate Baldwin of TreeHorse Veterinary Services in Biglerville, PA had treated Companero at home for a suspected colon impaction, but due to his continued discomfort, referred him to the Equine Medical Center for further diagnostics and treatment.

Led by Dr. Emily Schaefer, clinical assistant professor of equine medicine, the center's medicine team completed an abdominal ultrasound. The procedure did not identify significant abnormalities. An abdominocentesis, normal in color, returned a slightly elevated white cell count, and rectal palpation revealed a transverse colon obstruction.

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Medical management with intravenous fluids and enteral fluids was started, and Companero initially remained quiet with no overt signs of colic. By the second day of hospitalization, Campanero had not passed any manure and again began showing signs of moderate abdominal discomfort. A second abdominal ultrasound was performed, but no abnormalities were found. A second abdominocentesis revealed changes in the gelding's peritoneal fluid, indicating that surgical intervention would be necessary to relieve the obstruction.

During surgical exploration of Companero's abdomen, Dr. Maureen Kelleher, clinical assistant professor of sports medicine and surgery, discovered three large enteroliths in the transverse and right dorsal colon. An enterotomy was performed, and the enteroliths were removed.

Enteroliths are intestinal “stones” or mineral deposits that form in thin layers over a small piece of foreign matter ingested by the horse, such as a sliver of wood, a pebble or grains of sand. Enteroliths may remain in the colon for variable periods of time, but result in obstructive colic when the normal gastrointestinal motility moves the enterolith from a larger-diameter colon structure to a smaller-diameter structure. Some breeds of horses are predisposed to enteroliths, which are also caused by certain diets and are more prevalent in horses in North America's Western states. Unusual for a horse with enteroliths, Companero has lived his entire life on the East Coast.

Companero needed a little assistance from the center's large animal lift during his recovery from surgery. Once back in his stall, he remained bright and comfortable during his post-operative care, which included fluid therapy, antibiotics and analgesia. The gelding was started on a careful refeeding schedule shortly after surgery.

After seven days in the hospital, Companero and his companion Diablo were transported home. Detailed instructions for an adjusted diet were provided to his owner, Sally Alexander, who will continue his rehabilitation care at home.

Sally, who has been riding for more than 50 years, describes Companero as her “fun” horse. She has spent the past 11 years trail riding through woods and fields, and in the mountains with her husband, Steve, on his off-track thoroughbred, Diablo. Steve and Diablo enjoy jumping and they travel from their home in Gettysburg, PA, to Virginia on a regular basis for jumping lessons. Of course, Diablo accompanied Companero to the hospital to provide moral support during his treatment.

“Everyone at the hospital was so caring and took Companero's problems into account, and that made all the difference in his great outcome. He has bad knees and has trouble getting up when he is down, so extra planning and effort were needed to get him up after surgery,” said Sally, who was very concerned about her gelding because of his age and physical challenges. “It was also great that Dr. Kelleher had experience in this type of problem, which I understand is unusual for this area. We can't thank everyone at the hospital enough for the great care both horses received during their stay.”

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Study: Sunflower Seed Oil May Reduce Proud Flesh In Horses

Wounds on a horse's lower leg are notoriously difficult to heal, and often these injuries develop exuberant granulation tissue, commonly called proud flesh. This granulation tissue becomes a chronic wound, often requiring veterinarian intervention to remove the rapidly growing tissue and encourage wound healing.

Dr. Paula Alessandra Di Filippo and her Brazilian research team created a study to see if sunflower seed oil can assist with wound healing and prevent proud flesh development. They created two full-thickness wounds on the front cannon bones of eight horses to test potential wound healing protocols: On four horses, ozonated sunflower seed oil or pure sunflower seed oil was applied to the wounds on one limb and the other limb was treated with 0.9 percent sodium chloride. In the other four horses, a saline rinse was used on one limb and the others were treated with pure or ozonated oil.

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Treatments were applied once daily on the wound area and contraction rates were measured on days 0, 3, 7, 14 and 21. At 21 days, the team found that treated wounds healed better — those treated with ozonated sunflower seed oil saw a 72 percent contraction rate while those treated with the pure sunflower seed oil contracted by 53 percent. The sodium chloride group contracted by 35 percent.

The team found that proud flesh developed only in the non-sunflower seed oil groups. The wounds using ozone oil-treatment healed on Day 25 and the pure sunflower oil group healed by Day 27. The saline group healed by Day 30. The ozonated oil significantly reduced wound size. The team determined that ozonated sunflower seed oil accelerates wound repair and prevents the formation of granulation tissue in horses.