 |
[RC] Stae Thistle - Nancy Sturm
Mike Sherrell and Equus are right. According to the folks at Goatheads (www.goatheads.com/yellowstar.html), yelow star thistle contains an unidentified compound that causes nigropallidal encephalomalacia or chewing disease in horses. The compound only affects horses and permanently damages the area of the brain that controls fine motor movements, including mouth and lip movements. However, the horse must consume 50 to 150% of his weight in dry-weight plant material over a period of 1 to 3 months to produce symptoms.
So ... if your horse grabs a mouthful of star thistle, as mine certainly have, he's not going to have any permanent injury. And if he has adequate forage, he probably will not begin scarfing yellow star thistle, which is prickly and apparently bitter tasting.
But that pony died an ugly death, despite treatment, and I'd rather shovel the stuff than take a chance.
Nancy Sturm
Nancy Sturm
Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.
|