This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Horse Pasture, Fencing, Barns » Managing Pastures »
  Discussion on Tansy Mustard Weed
Author Message
Member:
quatro

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 12:22 pm:

We were checking out our alfalfa fields for timing for cutting and baling. We found a feathery like weed interspersed in the alfalfa. We sent a sample to our extension office and they said it was tansy mustard. The conservation officer said he did not think it was toxic to the horses, and that it tasted bad so they probably would not eat it any how. He gave us ways to rid the field for next year, basically kill the whole field, and replant. But will it be ok to feed the horses this alfalfa, have not really seen it in the grass hay right next door.
thanks
suz
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 10:43 pm:

Susan, I lifted this off the Texas Cooperative Extension Service:

Description
Tansy mustard is an annual cool-season forb growing to 2 feet tall. It is usually single-stemmed, leafy and covered with fine, gray hairs. Leaves are placed alternately along wavy stems, with each divided into many small segments. Flowers vary from yellow to whitish, occurring in long clusters at stem ends. Plants flower in February through May. The very distinctive fruits are long, round, slender, two-celled capsules filled with many small, waxy seeds.

Distribution and habitat
Tansy mustard is distributed widely throughout the southern and western United States up to 7,000 feet in elevation. Heavy stands may form on dry, sandy soils in arid areas. Abundance increases after moderate or heavy winter rains in the arid southwest. Regions: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Toxic agent
The toxic agent is unknown. Large quantities of the plant must be consumed before poisoning occurs. Tansy mustard also accumulates toxic levels of nitrate. Livestock signs Cattle are the only kind of livestock reported to be poisoned. The first clinical sign is partial or complete blindness (blind staggers). Animals wander aimlessly until exhausted, or may stand pushing their head against a solid object for hours. Next, or along with blindness, comes an inability to use the tongue or to swallow (paralyzed tongue). Cattle may stand at water unable to drink, or try unsuccessfully to graze.

Integrated management strategies
A simple and effective treatment is to administer 2 to 3 gallons of water (with nourishment such as cottonseed meal if the animals are seriously weak) twice daily by stomach tube. With this treatment, clinical signs gradually disappear. Tansy mustard is relatively non-toxic, so moderate amounts may be desirable. Furthermore, stands thick enough to lead to the heavy consumption necessary for poisoning do not appear every year. Because of this, herbicidal control is not recommended except where dense stands occur near watering and holding facilities and other areas of high livestock use. Good range management practices and grazing a mixture of cattle, sheep and/or goats may help prevent excessive intake by cattle.
Member:
quatro

Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 10:20 am:

Thanks Dr. O. Will keep an eye on it, and maybe borrow some sheep!
We usually sell the first cutting, and feed the grassier stuff to the boys.
Did not mention horse problems, but we will be cautious anyhow.
suz
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC