HorseAdvice.com Equine & Horse Advice: Is Hay Safe?

Better information makes for healthier horses,
Horseadvice.com is where equine science and horse sense intersect.

HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Colic, Diarrhea, GI Tract » Colic in Horses » Blister Beetle Poisoning » Is Hay Safe?

Discussion on Is Hay Safe?

Use the navigation bar above to access articles and more discussions on this topic.

Author

Message

Sharon M Roboski (Roboski)

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 2, 2000 - 9:39 am:

DrO,
I found a blister beetle in the pony's stall, just where I toss her hay. I hadn't fed alfalfa in three days, but I guess the bug could have gone unnoticed. Are they EVER found in timothy or coastal - the hays I'd been feeding the last few days? A friend says not to feed the rest of the alfalfa, since even if I check carefully and don't see any more beetles the toxins are in the hay & it's contaminated.
Thanks, Sharon

Robert N. Oglesby DVM (Dro)

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 2, 2000 - 6:07 pm:

Yes, they are rarely found in grass hays. I would recommend you have an entomologist (contact your local extension service) to have it id'ed, not all blister beetles are toxic, and it is important for you to know.
DrO

Post a Message to this Discussion

Posting
Instructions:

Full Service Members may post to this discussion and should address the orignial poster's concerns or other information posted here. New questions about your horse should be started in a new discussion. Use the navigation bar at the top of this page to return to the parent article and review the article and existing discussions. If your question remains unanswered "Start a New Discussion", the link is under the list of discussions at the bottom of the article.

Post:

Username:

Password:

Options:

Enable HTML code in message
Automatically activate URLs in message

Action:

Home Page \| Todays Discussions \| Search \| Top of Page	Administration