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Discussion on Oak and Acorn poisoning-How much is toxic?
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New Member:
luv2rack
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 - 10:33 am:
My two geldings have shown a fondness for acorns and I am concerned about the amount they must consume to be adversely affected. I have done a little research and I can't find much on quantity. Does anyone here know how much a 1100lb. horse would have to eat to do damage?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 - 1:45 pm:
Hello Diane,
We don't know of a quantity unfortunately. It is a fact that millions of horses consume acorns, sometimes in great quantity, every year without any untoward effects.
As explained in the article besides the amount consumed it will also depend on the specie of oak and even the age of the acorn. The absolutely safest thing to do is to remove the acorns but we have white, red, and post oak around our pastures and do not have problems. You might discuss this with your local vet or extension to see if your area has such problems and make decisions from there.
DrO
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 - 6:26 pm:
This Ohio State bulletin has a little additional information about acorns and other toxic tree species. Green acorns are more toxic than the ripe ones. My horses do not seem to be very interested in the green ones but they consume fairly large quantities of live and laurel oak acorns. It is interesting that ruminants are more adversely affected than horses:
https://ohioline.osu.edu/b762/b762_25.html
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New Member:
luv2rack
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Posted on Thursday, Nov 19, 2009 - 7:49 am:
Thanks for the info, Dr. O. and Vicki. That Ohio State bulletin really has lots of good info all on one page.
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