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Please Reply to: Jonni jonnij@xxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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I lost a horse years ago to Oleander poisoning. I had always been told that 
?one bite won?t kill them?. Well, how WRONG that statement was. As many in CA 
know, some cities plant Oleander not only along the freeways, but also along 
some bridle trails. (go figure) This horse was young, and was one who tried to 
grab bites of things as he went down the trail. Well, he grabbed a bite of 
Oleander. I really did not think much of it, as he seemed to spit it out. A  
day or two later, he fell over dead. The days between the bite of oleander and 
when he died, he had the most mild signs of colic. I still had not thought 
about the oleander being a cause. He was eating some, drinking some, but just a 
tad off. One of those colics that we look at as a mild tummy ache that many of 
us just watch, but don?t call the vet out to check the horse.(not that he could 
have saved him anyway, as I still had not remembered the Oleander)  Oleander 
causes sudden death in some cases by heart failure, which is what I am sure my 
horse had, as he was standing, and then just fell dead.

I remembered the bite of Oleander some days later, and started to research it. 
I found out ALL stages of the plant are poisonous, and it does not matter if it 
is fresh or dried. In some cases, a few leaves can kill a horse (or other 
animal). People have been made very ill from trimming the bushes and not 
wearing  protective clothing, and getting the oils from the plant on them. Some 
have been made ill from the smoke of burning oleander, and I read of some folks 
using Oleander ?sticks? to roast marshmallows. (oops!)   This is a NASTY, NASTY 
plant, and should not be anywhere around horses. If I remember correctly, the 
city of Norco CA has a law,  that does not allow Oleander planted in the city. 
(they have a huge horse population)  Trimmed plants, or leaves that have fallen 
can indeed blow into a horse?s pen, and get ingested by accident.

After losing a horse from him grabbing a bite of foliage while I was riding, I 
no longer allow my horses to grab bites at random. If I want them to eat along 
the trail, I pause, and give them the signal (I tell them ?bite?) to let them 
know they can eat. There are many more plants out there that can poison a 
horse, or just make them sick, if they happen to grab a bite of it by accident. 
And many horses who get in the habit of going down the trail grabbing bites on 
the go, often grab at any plant. Not worth the risk to me, of them grabbing 
something that is potentially poisonous.

If you have oleander around your horses, I?d get it removed.

Jonni


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