Is red clover harmful to horses?

While healthy stands of white and red clover are not toxic to horses, these plants might harbor a fungus that manifests during stressful growing conditions, such as drought. This fungus produces a harmful mycotoxin.

Is red clover toxic to livestock?

Yes, cows can eat clover but feed safe and mold-free clover. Cattle grazing on sweet clover, yellow clover, and white clover may develop metabolic disorders. Clover poisoning leads to bloat which may cause the death of an animal.

How much clover is too much for horses?

Some clovers in other parts of the U.S. have been associated with several health issues in horses when it exceeds 20 percent to 40 percent of a forage stand and becomes infected with fungal pathogens.

Can a horse founder on clover?

There is no fructan in warm-season grasses, yet horses can still founder on them. Since the same environmental conditions that create high fructan concentrations also increase sugar and starch levels, it’s best to just limit all NSCs.

What happens when a horse eats red clover?

Red clover poisoning will cause your horse to slobber excessively. Red clover poisoning is also known as Slaframine poisoning or the slobbers. It is not life-threatening and many times horses do not show any other symptoms other than excessive salivation. Red clover poisoning can affect all horses of any age.

Which clover is toxic to horses?

Alsike clover
Alsike clover, in either hay or pasture form, is poisonous to horses. It can trigger a severe skin reaction to sunlight or it can kill horses within 24 hours of exposure. The alsike clover plant contains a toxin, thought to be an alkaloid, which damages liver cells.

Can you graze red clover?

Conaghan also said that when red clover is grazed, it should be grazed to a post-grazing height of 4-6cm. But, care must be taken when grazing red clover swards, he said as more animals suffer from bloat when grazing red clover swards compared to white clover.

What kind of clover can horses eat?

The three varieties that will most commonly grow in your horse’s pastures are red clover, white clover, and alsike clover.

Is clover a good pasture?

Red clover is a very useful pasture legume. Its high nutritional value is great for feeding livestock, and its nitrogen fixing qualities are helpful for companion plants and subsequent crops.

What clover is best for horses?

Common white clover and Ladino white clover are the most popular legumes for horse pastures. Although alfalfa is commonly recommended, it is seldom found in pasture mixes. Red clover is also commonly recommended but most horse owners avoid it because it can cause the slobbers.

What happens when horses eat clover?

Unlike the relatively non-toxic white and red clovers, alsike clover causes two very serious medical conditions in horses: photosensitization and ‘big liver syndrome’. The progressive destruction of the liver, also called ‘big liver syndrome’, is the most fatal effect of long-term exposure to aliske clover.

Why do horses drool after eating clover?

This is known as Slaframine poisoning. The fungus infects red clover, white clover, alsike clover, and alfalfa. Slaframine poisoning is not life-threatening, but it can cause excessive salivation, The slaframine stimulates the salivary glands and causes horses to drool.

Can horses eat red clover?

We recommend mixing red or white clover with grass because clover doesn’t regrow as well when grazed by horses. Legumes can be safely grazed by healthy horses. Alfalfa and red clover can be appropriate pasture species for horses diagnosed with metabolic disorders.

Does red clover grow in overgrazed pastures?

Although a common pasture legume, it does not tolerate continuous grazing, and as a result it is not normally found in overgrazed pastures. The leaves of the red clover plant, like white clover, also have a watermark. Alsike clover, like red clover is a tall upright plant.

How do you manage Clover in horse pastures?

Management strategies to “living” with clover in horse pastures include acknowledging the clover indexes in pastures and recognizing sensitivities to clover when they appear in horses.

How to get rid of Alsike clover in horses?

Generally a horse has to consume these plants for several months before the liver effects become severe. The best strategy is to remove all alsike clover from pastures by using a recommended broad leaf herbicide labeled for pasture use and rotate crops to allow grass to be competitive with the clover.