Why Does My Horse Eat Pine Trees?

Assuming you feed your horse a nutritionally balanced equine diet, complete with plenty of roughage in the form of forage — good quality grazing grass or hay — then her bark eating may be a sign she’s bored. Or she may have an eating disorder known as pica, which is eating strange substances for no apparent reason.

Why is my horse eating branches?

Wood eating can be normal behavior in horses, or it can indicate a problem, such as illness, inadequate dietary fiber, or boredom. Bark, branches, roots, and other seemingly inedible plant parts form a small but important component of the horse’s natural diet.

Is it OK for horses to eat bark?

Other than being destructive and annoying and eventually lethal for the trees, bark chewing isn’t typically “bad” for your horse. However, your horse may be more prone to choke, as a piece of hard bark may lodge in his esophagus. Intestinal impaction is also a risk.

Are pinecones bad for horses?

It grows brownish-red pine cones about four or five inches in length and long, thick pine needles. There are many varieties and subspecies of blackjack pines, but many are referred to as Ponderosa pines. However, they are all toxic to horses.

What are horses lacking if they eat wood?

Horses may chew on wood in their stable, fencing, or trees. Hay and pasture may vary in the content of fiber and it is shown that if horses are not getting enough fiber in your diet they may choose to chew wood.

Why do horses eat tree branches?

But, if it gets bored or hungry, to satisfy its need to graze, your horse might try chewing on tree barks, branches, or leaves. Some horses love the taste of willow, staghorn sumac, and a few others. Others nibble out of habit or curiosity, rather than hunger or taste.

What are 3 things horses should not eat?

Here are eight foods you should never feed your horse:

• Chocolate. ©russellstreet/Flickr CC.
• Persimmons.
• Avocado.
• Lawn clippings.
• Pitted fruits.
• Bread.
• Potatoes and other nightshades.
• Yogurt or other milk products.

What trees should horses not eat?

Several trees are poisonous to horses, including sycamore, yew and oak. However, the most common concerns we see from horse owners are around acorn poisoning and atypical myopathy from sycamore seeds.

Why would a horse start eating wood?

There are several reasons why your horses may form a habit of chewing. This habit is more common among horses that are kept indoors more often than others. Nevertheless, some of the most common causes are boredom and frustration, stress, nutritional deficiencies, lack of social interaction, and possibly genetics.

Can you have pine trees in a horse pasture?

Most pine species are not listed on any toxic plant database, but Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa pine) does appear on several of the databases below and should not be planted near cattle or horses.

Are Christmas trees toxic to horses?

Some smaller ornamental Christmas trees may be of the genus Taxus, commonly referred to as Yew. This evergreen shrub has fleshy red seed coverings. All parts of the yew plant, both fresh and dried, are extremely toxic to horses. The plant contains taxine, a toxin that affects cardiac activity.

What evergreen trees are not toxic to horses?

ANSWER:

• ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant Lists—Horses.
• Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine)
• Pinus taeda (loblolly pine)
• Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) This species appears on the Non-Toxic portion of the ASPCA list.
• Morella cerifera (wax myrtle)
• Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose woodfern)

How do I get my horse to stop eating wood?

If she finds nothing amiss, you can treat wood chewing as a behavioral issue and take some steps to discourage it:

1. Provide more long-stem forage.
2. Eliminate access to the wood source.
3. Make the wood distasteful.
4. Step up your horse’s exercise program.
5. Don’t miss out!

How can I tell if my horse is deficient in a nutrient?

Symptoms of Vitamin Deficiencies in Horses

• Vision/eye changes – specifically reduced ability to see in dim or low light conditions, increased tearing, changes in clarity of the cornea.
• Immune system – increased sensitivity to pneumonia.
• Impaired reproduction.
• Increased appetite.
• Muscles – progressive weakness.
• Hoof changes.

Is it normal for horses to chew wood?

In their natural state, wild horses will incorporate a small amount of woody fiber into their diet in the winter months. Therefore, some wood chewing may be considered normal behavior.

Is it okay for horses to eat tree leaves?

Many horses will taste-test tree leaves from time to time, and in most instances, this snack isn’t dangerous. However, leaves from some trees contain toxins that can make horses seriously ill. Depending on the type of tree, fresh, wilted, or dry leaves can be risky if horses eat even small quantities.

What do horses love to eat the most?

What do horses eat?

• Grass – horses love grass.
• Hay or haylage – keeps your horse full and its digestive system working, particularly in the cooler months from autumn to early spring when pasture isn’t available.
• Fruit or vegetables – these add moisture to the feed.

What is the healthiest food for horses?

Their natural diet is mainly grass, which has high roughage content. Horses should be provided with a predominantly fibre-based diet, either grass, hay, haylage or a hay replacement in order to mimic their natural feeding pattern as closely as possible.

What is the most toxic plant to horses?

Nine poisonous plants horses should avoid

• Ragwort. While ragwort has a bitter taste and is rarely eaten by horses when it is growing, when it is wilted or dried it becomes more palatable.
• Foxglove.
• Deadly nightshade.
• Buttercups.
• Acorns.
• Yew.
• Privet.
• Rhododendron.

What tree is poisonous to horses?

The seeds of the boxelder tree (Acer negundo) containing the toxin hypoglycin A have been associated with Seasonal Pasture Myopathy in horses. Seasonal Pasture Myopathy (SPM) is an equine muscle disease which can be fatal in 90 percent of cases.

What does a horse sick field look like?

An over grazed field or “horse-sick” field will have a rather patchy appearance and evidence of rampant weed growth, possibly with parched, bare soil in places with no grass growth at all. The former are likely the places where you find the majority of horse droppings.