Saturday November 20 2010
Hay is, of course, the number one choice. The alfalfa hay is for special horses or occasions (like skinny ones who need weight, warmth, or who get crowded off the hay). Anybody who can scam some grain is thrilled. The salt licks are popular.
The herd really isn't interested now in going up the canyon, but when I do coax them up there, they spend a few hours picking around.
They'll choose a bit of cheatgrass,
but they particularly go for the greasewood. I can't fathom why - it's prickly stuff and one of the reasons why cowboys around here wear chaps, and it's not something you'd choose to land in if you got tossed off your horse.
It's known to cause oxalate poisoning in sheep if eaten in large amounts, but it doesn't seem to adversely affect the horses. The plant absorbs large quantities of sodium salts, which must make the greasewood taste salty, though I can't detect it.
It's not so easy to eat, either. The horses curl their lips back and carefully strip off the minute leaves with their teeth.
I expect they still get some prickly stems that must poke holes in their tongues and cheeks while chewing, but they seem to think it's worth the effort.
So that's greasewood, huh? I think I have some of that, and Dixie and the goats all enjoy it. Looks pretty unpalatable to me, but more power to them I suppose. Cool!
ReplyDeleteHorses will always choose what they NEED- if they have the chance to offset a lack in their diet-cool huh?
ReplyDeleteI just love how they eat the tender prickly delights!
ReplyDeleteCurl the lips back and all!
My horse likes greasewood, too. It certainly doesn't look very appetizing.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of greasewood. Guess it's because of where I'm from. You'd think the horses wouldn't want to work that hard for food. Such funny creatures sometimes. LOL
ReplyDeleteDon't think we have that stuff here on the East Coast. Never can tell what horses will eat when given a natural buffet.
ReplyDeleteSometimes they eat the strangest things. We had the thorniest rosebushes that would prick you right through tough gloves and of course they would eat them thorns and all. I'm surprised their mouths weren't bleeding all the time. Never heard of greasewood, we don't have it here, but I'm glad they're enjoying their snacks.
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of like watching the horses here eat the thistle... it hurts my mouth just watching but they just love it.
ReplyDeleteMy horses do that with thistle; carefully picking off the tastiest morsels. Silly to us, but there is likely something necessary for them.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how they enjoy it so much.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that horses always eat what's necessarily good for them...hence horses that break into the feed room and gorge on grain...or my mare who gorged on sage and became intoxicated. Some horses seem to get addicted to certain foods and eat too much and lose control.
Greasewood looks a little bit like sage actually.
I looked it up in my favorite guide: "http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/index.cfm"
Common Name: Greasewood, chico
Greasewood
Botanic Name: Sarcobatus vermiculatus
Plant Family: Chenopodiaceae
Habitat: The dominant vegetation of the dry alkaline soils of the western states.
Animals Affected: Sheep, cattle most commonly affected, but all livestock are susceptable.
Toxic Principle: Sodium oxalate. (10-22% dry matter). The leaves contain the highest concentration of oxalate. Toxicity occurs when 1.5-5.0% of an animal's weight of the plant is ingested over a short period of time.
Description: An erect, deciduous shrub with woody, spiney branches often growing to 150 cm. The plants are many branched turning gray with maturity. The leaves are alternate, bright green, fleshy, loosely round in cross section, and up to 1-1/4 inches long. The flowers are unisexual with the plants having both sexes of flower on the same plant. The femaleflowers being inconspicuous in the axils and the male flowers occurring as terminal spikes (catkins). The fruits are winged and conical in shape.
Muscloskeletal: Muscle tremors, tetany, weakness, reluctance to move, depression, and recumbency resulting from hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia. Coma and death may result within 12 hours. Animals that survive the acute effects of oxalate poisoning frequently develop kidney failure.
Treatment: Calcium gluconate, magnesium sulfate, glucose, and a balanced electrolyte solution can be given intravenously to maintain kidney perfusion, and treat the effects of the low blood calcium. Giving limewater [Ca(OH)2] orally will help to prevent absorption of further soluble oxalate from the rumen. The prognosis is usually very poor because of the severe kidney damage that results.
Renal System: Animals that survive the acute effects of oxalate poisoning frequently develop kidney failure. Insoluble calcium oxalate filtered by the kidneys causes severe damage to the kidney tubules. Animals die from renal failure.
Diagnosis: Sudden deaths, or weak,
Special Notes: Factors that predispose an animal to oxalate intoxication include the amount and rate at which the oxalate plant is eaten, the quantity of other feed diluting the oxalate in the rumen, and prior adaptation of rumen microflora to oxalates. Ruminants allowed to graze small quantities of oxalate containing plants are able to increase their tolerance for oxalate 30% or more over a few days. Sheep and cattle adapted to oxalate can make good use of range forages containing oxalate that would otherwise be toxic. Oxalate poisoning most often occurs when unadapted sheep or cattle are allowed to graze large amounts of Halogeton or Sarcobatus as they pass through, or are pastured overnight on range land containing large stands of these plants. Prevention Supplementary dicalcium phosphate in diet prior to and during high risk situations is an effective means of reducing losses. High dietary calcium binds oxalate in the rumen as insoluble, nonabsorable calcium oxalate. Calcium may be provided to the animals in a salt mix (75 lbs salt, 25 lbs dicalcium phosphate) or in pelleted alfalfa at a 5% concentration and fed at the rate of 0.5 lbs per sheep per day.
Treatment: Calcium gluconate, magnesium sulfate, glucose, and a balanced electrolyte solution can be given intravenously to maintain kidney perfusion, and treat the effects of the low blood calcium. Giving limewater [Ca(OH)2] orally will help to prevent absorption of further soluble oxalate from the rumen. The prognosis is usually very poor because of the severe kidney damage that results.
~Lisa
my new horse taught my old horse to eat sagebrush, to the toon of a big colic vet bill. :oP New horse, no colic, old horse must have really pigged out?
ReplyDeleteDuring the summer our horses carefully pick off the flowers of thistles.
ReplyDelete