Horses enjoy eating California's poison ivy. It appears to have absolutely
no effect on them.
Beware, though, horse's digestive tract does nothing to decrease the potency
of the poison's effect on humans.
The worst case of poison ivy I have ever witnessed was when a pastured horse
coliced (from other causes) and went to surgery. The entire surgical staff
was out for a week itching so badly that most required prescription
treatment. The horse recovered without any difficulty.
As to the other weed. California has many noxious weeds. The pollen is
often surrounded with nature's many ways to discourage animals from eating
it. :) "If you can't identify it, don't snort it." ;)
There are some plants that are poisonous for horses. Most taste very bad.
Most horses will not eat them. Some horses, however, will eat anything. If
it looks anything out of the ordinary, try not to let your horse eat it.
(Allergic reactions are much more common than poisonings. Same rule goes:
If it looks anything out of the ordinary, try not to let your horse eat it.)
Just watch out for poison ivy poop after going camping!
Mike
C. Mike Tomlinson, DVM
Chief Managing Director In Charge
Department of Redundancy Department
Tomlinson Consortium
501-D West Redlands Blvd.
Redlands, CA 92373-4642
(909)307-2369
Fax(909)307-2366
CMikeT@AOL.com
Mike@Tomlinson.com