Poisonous seeds warning to horse owners

HORSE owners are being warned to try and protect their animals from eating seeds which could cause a fatal muscle disease.

The British Veterinary Association and British Equine Veterinary Association are highlighting the danger to horses of eating sycamore seeds.

The seeds are toxic and can cause Seasonal Pasture Myopathy which can kill horses.

High winds last Autumn resulted in pastures being contaminated with sycamore seeds which led to a four-fold increase in cases of the illness.

British Equine Veterinary Association president Mark Bowen said: “In the last two years our understanding of this awful condition in horses has increased considerably.

"We now know that sycamore seeds contains the highly toxic agents that cause SPM and this means there are practical things that we can advise owners to do that minimise the risk to their animals.”

Horse owners are being urged to:

* Restrict access to seeds by using temporary fencing,

* Ensure horses have access to good quality uncontaminated pasture;

* Move horses off pasture at times of risk; 

* Provide supplementary feed in the field to minimise the risk of horses being tempted to ingest seeds;

* Avoid leaving wet hay on the ground where it will rot and potentially trap seeds; 

* Discuss the risks and how to identify early clinical signs of the disease with vets; 

* Be aware that a field without sycamore trees can still contain seeds spread by high winds or flood water; 

* Not to prune seed laden trees as this can lead to massive pasture contamination and further increase the risk to horses.

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