11/10/08 Toxic pastures

Seems in the Spring we are so particular about turning horses and cattle out onto rich foliage, and we should be. By late summer and fall we think we are out of the woods (forgive the pun) but fall fields can be dangerous as well. I'm Jeff Keane, and after the break I will be back with some ideas on keeping pastured livestock safe. Many veterinarians report a rise in the number of horses poisoned by toxic foliage in the fall. Here is Susan Allen to fill us in. Jeff, One look at any fall field and it is easy to see that most grasses and plants are depleted or going dormant and this means that grazing animals could end up eating something they shouldn't, like poisonous leaves or plants. Good pasture management is the key to keeping livestock safe, with horses it is ideal to rotate grazing, keep stocking numbers in line and provide rest periods for pastures. The better the grass stand the less, noxious weeds will take a hold. Fall is a great time to walk or ride pastures and see if any noxious weeds like Tansy ragwort or knapweed have starts. Even a few plants can multiply into a problem by spring. Jeff when there isn't enough foliage horses will eat resort to eating trees, red maple is extremely toxic but even cherry, apricots, peaches and plum trees can make horses sick. A poisoned horse can be hard to diagnosed due to the fact illness can develop long after the animal has been moved to another pasture or the plant has been eaten down. On a positive note most toxic plants don't taste that great so if animals have other grazing options, they will avoid them. I'm Jeff Keane.