Can Miniature Horses eat Pampas Grass?

[DanaHR]

My miniature horse has taken a liking to the pampas grass. I was told that horses usually won't eat something that is not good for them. Before I brought her home, I literally vaccumed the entire back yard. I could not find pampas grass or weeping bamboo on any of the websites of toxic plants for horses. She seems to love eating both of them. However, since she has been eating the pampas grass, she has developed a bit of a dry cough. I am not sure if it is because of the grass or the wet cold weather we have been having. She eats plenty of hay and gets grain twice a day. She still seems very active, but lays down three to four times per day. Is this all normal?

 

[maplegum]

Pampas Grass!

That stuff is rough and sharp! I'm not even sure how she eats it! As a kid we had a pampas grass plant in our front yard and clearly remember it slicing through my skin as I ran past it.

Not sure if it's harmful in other way, other than ripping her mouth apart!

 

[DanaHR]

Pampas Grass!

That stuff is rough and sharp! I'm not even sure how she eats it! As a kid we had a pampas grass plant in our front yard and clearly remember it slicing through my skin as I ran past it.

Not sure if it's harmful in other way, other than ripping her mouth apart!

Thanks - That's what I thought !!!! I am not sure why she is eating it. Her mouth isn't damaged or cut. I am sure it cannot be good for her stomach. But other than the cough, she seems fine.

 

[Equuisize]

I did a bit of reading on pampas grass recently. I love it's gracefulness and was given

some huge starts of it. It is pretty much an invasive weed if not contained.

You do not want to plant it near streams it said. The concern being that the seeds would

float downstream and invasively plant themselves in unwanted areas.

The only concern I saw connected to horses was that when it's in it's seeding stage, the horses

grazing off it can knock seed into their eye causing, in some cases serious injury.

We planted all our starts well away from our creek and the horses fencing.

 

[JourneysEnd]

One of mine eats it and never seems to cut himself.

I think they're smarter about dealing with it then us humans.

If I walk pass it, I get cut up.

 

[wwminis]

Here's what I found on Pampas grass! Pretty toxic! Check out this link!

My Webpage

 

[outlawridge]

I know that the native horse of Argentina grazes frequently on Pampas grasses but they are a pretty tough and hardy breed. There also are several varieties of Pampas grass. Personally, and IMHO, I would not let her do this for it's sharpness alone. I would think it would be harder to digest and dangerous in her intestines. An impaction of this sort might be tragic.

 

[DanaHR]

Here's what I found on Pampas grass! Pretty toxic! Check out this link!

My Webpage

WOW !!! This is the first thing I have seen on pampas grass being toxic. It didn't state if it was toxic to all animals or just some???? I checked so many websites before we brought her home and didn't see pampas grass on any of them, including the ASPCA website. I dug up 72 different plants and shrubs in our back yard just because they showed up on one of the lists as being harmful to horses. Is there anyplace to find an exhaustive list of toxic plants for horses?

 

[muffntuf]

I don't see it as being poisonous to horses, but with it you usually see yellow star thistle, which is toxic to horses.

 

[Mulligans Run]

We had a stallion eat Pampas Grass - he ended up in the hospital with colic. It's very tough and hard to digest. And on top of that he ate Oleander which is extremely toxic. He's a walking Miracle. Our vet was astonished that he pulled through. He was in her office in a dog kennel on Iv's and meds while his kidneys started failing and it was touch and go for days. He pulled around and is now proudly owned by JustACowgirl (Trish). He's a beautiful gelding who shouldn't be with us, but he was a fighter. We were lucky, and so was he.

So, no - Pampas Grass should not be allowed to be eaten......I pray your little ones are okay.