Maple Leaf Poisoning Horses

[dlskidmore]

How does the possibility of red maple leaf poisoning affect the usefulness of horses in logging in a maple forest? Should this be avoided entirely?

[lancek]

Good question!!!!!

[bburgess]

If you’re working a horse in the woods, there’s not a great deal of time for them to eat. Just a few leaves now and then shouldn’t hurt anything. But in the case like mine, where the tree falls in their pasture overnight, they can gorge themselves on the leaves before anyone knows what has happened.

Just like the black cherry, it’s supposedly only the wilted leaves that can kill them, but there were no wilted leaves on this tree that I found. I did look very close.

Ben

[Carl Russell]

Ben, it is a very unfortunate occurrence.

I asked one of my vets about this around 1990, as I had read about it in SFJ. The story suggested removing pasture-side trees, and since we have tons of red maple, and I had seen my horses gobble leaves and bark, I was concerned.

He said that he had never had a case, and that I shouldn’t worry, besides they would have to eat a bushel-basket full. Since then I have not worried about it. I have seen my horses eat a lot of red maple leaves in the woods.

Yours is a cautionary tale. My heart goes out to you.

I will refresh my vigilance, and watch out for those possible problems.

Carl

[jen judkins]

I wonder if it is possible that horses in New England and the east coast have some tolerance to red maple since they are exposed to it regularly. Seems like a plausible explanation for why these horses got sick so fast, compared to those horses eating red maple leaves regularly. I see my horses eating red maple leaves occasionally. Something to think about when bringing horses east from the desert. Very sad. Jennifer.

[jac]

You might be onto something with that Jen.. over here we have grass sickness and it is predominatly but by no means only an east coast problem. Horses from the west taken east seem to fare worse.
John

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