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Poisonous Posies

Learn to identify poisonous plants in your horse’s pasture by visiting these university websites. Plant photos, toxicity ratings, signs of poisoning in horses, first aid and prevention are just part of what you will find at:



• Cornell University—www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants
• Purdue University—www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/WS/WS_37_ToxicPlants08.pdf



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Abigail Boatwright

Abigail Boatwright is a freelance writer and photographer based in Texas, and is the editor of Horse Illustrated’s sister publication, Western Life Today.

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  • Great information. We had a horse die on a trail ride in our area and found it hard to get information on poisonious plants. Horses seem to want to eat anything on a trail ride. We are all trying to be more aware of what they are grabbing for. Thanks so much.

  • Black Walnut trees, not only does it cause founder if used in sawdust, but the bark and possibly the wood as well, can cause serious colic......found this out the hard way from a tree that was cut down in my paddock, and I had a mare that ate the bark and chewed some of the wood...........she colicked several times and we thought it was some kind of tick fever............she lost weight and eventually died of colic when not found quick enugh.

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