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Horse Health – Plants Poisonous To Horses – Part 1

June 7th, 2012

Horse Health – Plants Poisonous To Horses

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is pisonous to horses

 

It is essential that your horse has all the things necessary for a good life, especially food, water, love and attention, excercise etc., but it is just as important that he does not come in contact with poisonous plants. The toxins in these plants vary in intensity, from yew, which is so deadly that a single mouthful kills, to something more mild, like buttercups, which cause little irritating sores to form round their mouths.

Horses tend to avoid toxic plants if they have sufficient grazing, but when there is little left in the way of quality pasture, they turn to all other vegetation, which can, of course, contain deadly poisons.

Yew

One mouthful is enough to kill. This deadly plant contains taxine, to which there is no known antidote. It can kill withing minutes of being swallowed, due to heart failure. Symptoms include;

trembling

slowing heart rate

cardiac failure

horsetail

Also known as mares tail, this weed thrives in marshy land. Horses tend to avoid it, but it is sometimes incorporated in hay. It has high levels of silica, and can cause poisoning.

Symptoms;

Weakness, uncoordinated rear end

difficulty seeing

high levels of pyruvate in blood

Ragwort

This distinct, fast growing yellow weed thrives almost anywhere, from well tended pastures to wasteland.Even in the most meticulously cared for grassland, it can easily spread through its small, light seeds.

It causes irreversible liver damage and is extremely poisonous, both to livestock and humans. It is poisonous even to touch, the sap enters the bloodstream through the pores in the skin.

It must be dug up, gloves must be worn to do this, and a long thin spade should be used to remove roots to avoid danger of regrowth. Burn, roots and all.

Symptoms

blindness

uncoordination

collapse

sweating

Hemlock

This white flowering plant is extremely toxic to humans and animals, and can even cause damage simply through touch. The sap causes blistering, especially in the presence of sunlight.

Symptoms include;

dilated pupils

collapse

blindness

incoordination

salivation

trembling

blue mouth

weak pulse

Ground ivy

breathing difficulties

salivation/ frothing

excess/ profuse sweating

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Caring for your pony – Grooming

May 30th, 2010

Grooming your pony

Grooming your pony

Besides water, food and sufficient exercise, another important aspect in horse care is grooming. Whether you own or loan a pony, or simply help out at a friends house, grooming is an important skill you need to learn beside riding.

As well as keeping a ponies coat clean, grooming promotes blood flow, stimulates breathing, strengthens the bond between you and him /her and it removes dead skin cells and dead hair.

If you think of grooming as flicking a random brush over your pony, then you are mistaken. That certainly is NOT the way to groom a pony. When you groom a pony you should do it methodically so that you do not flick dirt back on to a part of the pony that you have already brushed. Start by picking out the hooves but remember to pick them out from heel to toe as otherwise you may hurt the frog(!) (the sensitive middle part of the bottom of the hoof) if your hand slips.

Check for signs of thrush (smelly feet, black discharge) and carefully put the ponies hoof down. Next, start grooming the mane and use a body brush or your fingers to comb the mane till you can go through it without trouble. A de-tangler spray would really help.

Remove mud from the coat with a dandy brush and and then use a body brush to remove grease and scurf. After a few strokes with the body brush use a metal curry comb to remove the hair from the body brush. Note: the metal curry comb is only used for cleaning the body brush, and should NEVER be used on a pony.

Now set to work with the tail, but stand to the side to avoid getting kicked and pull the tail to the side. Use a body brush or your fingers because, however tempting it may seem to use a plastic curry comb, this is not advised as it breaks the hair and can give your pony split ends.

Now as a finishing touch, why not add some hoof shine?
Otherwise you can use effol or another well known hoof strengthening cream or paste.

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