Can Clover Cause Laminitis In Horses?

Clover and alfalfa are dangerous for horses who are susceptible to laminitis. True. Clover and alfalfa contain relatively high levels of sugars and starch, both in pasture and as part of hay. These nutrients can start the chain of events that leads to digestive laminitis.

Can horses eat too much clover?

For some, however, eating too much clover or being exposed to unhealthy clover, can create a number of problems. Such problems include extreme obesity, increased salivation (slobbers), and even conditions of lactation in non-pregnant horses.

Why is clover not good for horses?

Clovers can sometimes mold, which causes slobbers, photosensitivity (reactive to light) and bleeding. These conditions can occur after horses eat affected clover either fresh or as hay.

Is clover high in sugar?

Clover can be very high in sugar and starch and is not a good forage for horses with EMS. Thick, properly fertilized grass will keep clover from taking over.

What are 4 causes of laminitis?

Laminitis can be caused by many factors, including overeating (obesity), working on a hard surface (commonly referred to as road founder), running high fevers, exposure to black walnut shavings, and stress. Ponies are extremely susceptible to laminitis, especially when fed rich, lush forage.

Can clover cause laminitis?

Try to reduce the amount of clover in your sward year on year. This very early season high sugar grass can easily set off laminitis in sensitive animals due to the effect that is has on blood glucose and therefore circulating insulin levels.

What happens when horses eat clover?

Photosensitivity most often occurs when a horse consumes wet alsike clover. If the horse’s skin is damp or wet, the alsike clover may cause lesions or sores. Swelling of the tongue is also a concern and, at worst, may cause difficulty in chewing or swallowing.

Can horses live on 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.

What kind of clover is safe 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.

Can horses 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 hay is best for Laminitic horses?

Hay – The Core Feed For A Laminitis Diet
Safer-type forages include Timothy, Teff, and Rhodes grass hays. Avoid hays containing high amounts of fructan such as ryegrass, oaten, wheaten, or barley hays. If you are unsure of the NSC level of the hay or chaff, you will need to soak it in water to leach the sugars out.

Will clover hurt horses?

More commonly known as black patch for the bronze to black spots it creates on the stems and leaves, the fungus is likely to be found on either white or red clover. The clover plants themselves are non-toxic and it is the fungus that contains the toxin slaframine that causes the undesirable symptoms in horses.

Can a horse with laminitis eat grass?

High amounts of sugars in grasses can bring about laminitis in horses susceptible to the disease. Susceptible horses should have limited grazing or no grazing.

What are the first signs of laminitis?

SIGNS

• Lameness, especially when a horse is turning in circles; shifting lameness when standing.
• Heat in the feet.
• Increased digital pulse in the feet (most easily palpable over either sesamoid bone at the level of the fetlock).
• Pain in the toe region when pressure is applied with hoof testers.

Does cold hosing help laminitis?

Horse owners should not be tempted to stand horses or ponies suffering from laminitis in a stream or to cold hose their hooves. Although it may initially make the animal more comfortable, prolonged cold will make the condition worse.

What is the most common cause of laminitis in horses?

What causes laminitis? Laminitis is usually a consequence of an underlying hormonal disorder and/or an inflammatory condition. Hormonal disorders which contribute to many laminitis episodes include equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or equine Cushing’s disease).

What are the 3 inciting causes of laminitis?

There are 3 main causes of laminitis: Overload, Inflammatory and Metabolic.

• Overload Laminitis. Relatively less commonly, horses can get laminitis from overload, typically associated with non-weight bearing conditions in one limb thereby overloading the opposite limb.
• Inflammatory Laminitis.
• Metabolic Laminitis.

What is the best grass for laminitic horses?

Try to graze paddocks that are sown with grasses that are naturally lower in sugar such as Timothy. Some grass types such as ryegrass are much higher in sugar and are commonly found in former dairy pasture.

What toxic plant can cause laminitis in horses?

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
Horses are susceptible to laminitis from exposure to black walnut wood in bedding. The bark, woods, nuts, and roots of the black walnut tree (Juglans nigra) contains a toxic compound.

How do you get rid of clover in a pasture?

Clover thrives in soil with low levels of nitrogen. A simple strategy to get rid of it would be to apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer to the clover patches. This will deter it from growing and spreading.
Or, you can use an organic fertilizer such as:

1. Cow manure.
2. Bone meal.
3. Liquid kelp.
4. Blood meal.
5. Guano.
6. Earthworm castings.

Can horses get clover poisoning?

Horses show the photosensitization syndrome with short-term exposure, while liver damage and enlargement is usually associated with long-term exposure. This problem has occurred mainly in horses and, occasionally, in cattle. There is also a potential for nitrate poisoning with alsike clover (2).