free range horse/poisonous plants

[ally]

Hi,
I have a TB who came to me in Sept. He is a young horse who can't be ridden through a back injury. His life had been a series of different owners all trying to ride him not realising he was in constant pain. So when he arrived he was skinny and stressed and, apparantly had been bullied by the previous owners other horses.
So he came to me via my vet to help my two cows keep my 4 acre paddock grass short.
Now he is more confident, has put on weight and looks to me like he should have some equine company.
He has been eating the grass where the cows are extremely efficiently in the mornings (and this grass is now very short) then in the afternoons he is allowed out to roam over the other 3 acres I have. This is a mixture of grass, woodland, shrubby areas,pond etc.
If I do get another horse I will need to make this area available to them both so that I can shut other areas off to rest.
My worry is that beause this extra land is "wild" there will be plants that are poisnous to horses growing eg elderberry which, to my horror, I read the other day is fatal to horses.
Are horses sensible enough not to eat plants that are bad for them, after all in the wild they must come across bad plants?
It would be virtually impossible for me to be sure that I can get rid of all the elderberry let alone any other poisnous things that my be growing.
But I really would need that extra space.
Basically can I rely on a horses instinct not to eat poisnous plants or not?

[ally]

Sorry, I didn't make it too clear that although my horse is using the area at the moment I think it is quite safe as it's winter and there isn't much growing. It is the coming of the spring that worries me.
A

[Zoe RA]

Golly, I didn't know that about Elderberry Ally! Black-fly are obviously immune though as it attracts them like nobody's business

I think on the whole though, horses will not eat poisons plants unless hey have nothing else to eat - with the possible exception of Yew. For example,one of my friends has an Elderberry tree hanging over the wall of the barn where she open houses her horses at night, and in all they years they have been housed like this, they have never once touched it.

Having said that, I once knew a horse who would actively seek out acorns in the autumn, which was a total pain as we had to fence off vast acres of her field

[Azrael]

My idiot pony has grabbed a mouthful of yew once and seems to actually like bracken and horsetail. But then other things like foxglove seem to be so minging they won't even consider eating it. I wouldn't rely on instinct to keep them away from all poisonous plants.

[mandal]

I think it's only the root of elderberry that is poisonous.
I think horses are more likely to eat poisonous plants if they are hungry. I believe a small amount of bracken is ok...
I'd check the area carefully for really poisonous plants like yew and ragwort and clear those. Bramble etc. I don't believe are poisonous but there is loads of info on the net if you do a search.

[ally]

thanks for your replies. I'll get rid of as many nasty plants as I can and keep my fingers crossed......

[varkie]

Personally I wouldn't knowingly turn my horses out in an area with poisonous or toxic plants. I could never live with myself if something happened. Some horses will have the sense to avoid such plants, others won't. A seriously sick or dead horse is a hell of a way to find out which you have.

[Karon]

None of mine have ever tried to eat elderberry, I've got a couple of trees in my fields and they've always left them alone. But I'd certainly check your field over for any other poisonous plants and remove them/fence them off before putting horses on there. I'm fighting a losing battle with foxgloves

[sundance]

Apart from some horses who seem to get a real taste for acorns, I am sure they usually avoid anything poisonous. HOWEVER, in very frosty conditions such as now, they sometimes cannot distinguish the poisonous plants and may eat them. Just a timely warning to put out hay or haylage then they won't go foraging as much.

[mandal]

I'm off to check on Elder again as mine used to eat the berries in the hedge bordering their fields...red poos!!!

Well it's not on the three lists I've looked at so far...
Here's one for you Ally.
www.horseweb-uk.com/features/plantmain.htm