Buttercups . . . so pretty! Yes, indeed. These little yellow flowers found on the
fields can, unfortunately, harm your horse causing digestive upsets. You might
want to do something about the growing buttercups in your pasture before your
horse gets into trouble!
Surely, your field that is field with bright, yellow flowers
may appear pretty but these little flowers are a threat to your horses. When
these flowers are ingested, toxic oils called protoanemonin from buttercup
leaves and stems are released. The result? - Your horse can be seen to salivate
excessively, have blisters on his mouth and may even develop digestive troubles
like diarrhea and mild colic. The toxicity of the plant may vary according to
species and its maturity level, but just to be on the safe side, you need to
assume that all buttercups can be harmful to your horse.
Buttercups tend to grow in pastures with overgrazed grass as
the weeds do not need to compete for space and nutrients that much. Also, these
plants tend to proliferate as they are not that palatable –most likely your
horse will not think twice about leaving them alone because they are not good
to the taste! But that does not mean you need to assume that your horse will
never eat those plants. If grass in
pasture is inadequate or you don’t provide supplemental hay, the horses may
start to consume the flowers because they have no choice. They will do it out
of hunger or boredom.
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practices? He could also be suffering from gastric ulcers. Stop pain from colicand ulcers in horses with AbPrazole Plus™, your trusted choice of equine
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You should not promote the growth of buttercups in your
pasture as they are known to be toxic. These flowers can be controlled with
chemical and/or mechanical means. If the pasture only has moderate amounts of
buttercups, the use of herbicides would be the most convenient option. However,
if the pasture is crowded by buttercups, more extensive measures should be
carried out. These may include tilling and sowing the field with grass seeds.
Extension agents from your local area can help you plan out how to eradicate
buttercups from your property.
When pursuing a buttercup eradication plan, it is important
to keep your horses away from the pasture two weeks after using chemicals to
target the weeds. This will ensure full efficacy of the weed killer and also to
allow all chemical residues to dissipate, making your pasture grass safe for
horses to eat once again. Be sure that herbicide application on your field is
done by professionals who have the required training to handle different
chemicals.
The good thing about this entire problem is that buttercups
are not considered poisonous if they dry up. So, if you find them in your
haylage, do not worry about it. The worst thing they could do is dilute the
nutritional value of your hay. To conclude, occasional growths of buttercup
will not be a very significant threat, but if your horse graze in
buttercup-infested fields then that would be the best time to take action.
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