acorns

[Charlene]

the one big oak tree in my dry lot is dropping acorns. when i am out there, i pick up all that i can see but many get buried in the sand. i have seen the horses munching on them. i know they are poisonous but there is no way i can get rid of the tree and certainly no way i can pick ALL of the acorns up.

a year ago, i blamed them for red's daily bouts of diarrhea. come to find out, he was reacting to something in the daily dewormer and since i stopped giving that to him, he has not had a single runny poo.

my horses pretty much have free choice grass hay so they aren't hungry. i guess they just LIKE them but i worry!

 

[REO]

When I was a kid I was told they can cause colic etc from the acid. The old ranch horses would eat them and we'd have to lock them out to stop them. You're doing the best you can to pick them up, and that's all you can really do!

Me and my sister played Indian and crushed some acorns up in a stone bowl (Indian relic) and tasted the mush. OMG NASTY! So BITTER!

 

[Charlene]

eww!! i've never tasted one, at least not that i remember, but i always figured they'd be bitter. why a horse would find them tasty is beyond me!

since my dry lot is all sand, i think most of them get buried before the horses find them.

 

[Marty]

Charlene, I don't care what anyone else says, they are toxic and they have the ability to kill a horse. I've seen it happen. I also have that problem each year at this time so I make a temporary hot wire fence where they acorns shed to keep the horses away from them. I can rake until the cows come home and as fast as I rake, they just keep on falling so I just ram a few metal tee posts in the ground and string a couple strands of hot wire. When winter hits, I take it down. Its the only thing I have been able to come up with.

 

[ljc]

I'm another one who has to put up temporary electric tape when the acorns start to fall. I've been going out to that corner of the field every day and so far, no acorns (but we had a very strange summer here in Southern CA so things are late).

I learned the hard way that acorns are dangerous - after five years of no problems with this same field, last year my big horses started colicking again and again and again. Interestingly, the minis didn't (they get turned out in the big horse field for a couple of hours when the big guys come in). Could not figure out what was causing the colics and finally posted on the Chronicle of the Horse bulletin board where many people suggested acorns. I ran out, checked the horses' manure, and found lots of acorns in the poop.

Put up electric tape and never had another colic.

Plenty of people have no problems with acorns. Heck, my neighbors on either side don't. But my particular horses do.

So, I would recommend finding a way to block those acorns. Raking doesn't work (to be honest, I'm still so paranoid that even with electric tape, I still rake every day because I've seen the little guys push right past the tape).

 

[Charlene]

fencing off the area just isn't an option. the dry lot is only 100' x 80'. this tree is ginormous. i would have to fence off 3/4 of the dry lot. it's loose sand so most of the acorns get covered up just by the horses walking around. i can't take the tree out. if i did that, they'd pretty much lose all of their shade.

 

[REO]

Can you use a lawn rake to find them? To kinda fluff them out of the sand?

 

[drk]

I too have two huge oak trees in part of my dry lot. I am a basket case every year when they start falling. Since my dry lot is actually separated into three areas I keep my horses out of the area with the acorns and I rake daily. The squirrels knock down hundreds a day so I'm always raking.

Just three days ago we had heavy rain here so I left all my horses in their stalls for the day while I went to work. When I got home I almost had heart failure when I saw that two of my small mares had somehow gotten out and since my stalls are near the oaks they had gotten into the Acorn area. I could see that they had been eating them but there were so many on the ground that all I could do way say a Prayer that they didn't get colic and then watch them closely the rest of the evening. Thank goodness they were okay.

I've thought about cutting those Oaks down but it's tough because they are such great shade for the horses during the summer months.

UGGG ! What to do ??? I hate those acorns

The horses think they are candy

 

[alphahorses]

A temporary electric fence with a solar charger can costs a lot less than a vet bill (and certainly less than a dead horse). It is a one person job and you would be amazed at how easy it is to put up. If you don't know how, your local supply store will usually have someone who is happy to walk you through it and make sure you have all the supplies you need.

Put it up far enough around the tree to account for those acrons that may roll or blow away from the tree.

 

[Lmequine]

Acorns can be a real problem in any equine. My husband is a farrier and works with several vets, in the fall he sees many cases of founder/laminitis caused from horses and ponies eating acorns. Once a horse gets founder or laminitis, you are looking at dealing with a life long issue with their feet. It does not take that many acorns to cause a problem and the toxins seem to build up over time. And yes, we do know of some horses in the area that have colicked and died, upon necropsy, they were full of acorns.

Like everyone else I recommend that you fence off the area this time of year. Standing in a small safe area is a much better alternative than colic or worse yet founder.

 

[Peggy Hogan]

Please help....

Well....just saw the first of the acorns drop and then watched McKee snap it up as quick as possible. (For those of you who have seen my videos McKee is the little guy who sits on the beanbag chair)

Darn.....it WOULD be him....arg....

2 years ago I picked them up twice a day, but really can't keep ahead of this bumper crop this year.

So did some of you say you actually kept your horses out using hot wire? My herd does pretty good leaving the wire alone, but I really hate taking away their main source of shade....

How long do your oaks drop the acorns? We're kind of skewed in our weather this year. The acorns seem to be dropping late; I don't want to keep them out of this area for a couple of months either.

Rats....suggestions?

Thanks for any and all ideas!

 

[Marty]

Yes Hogan I actually set up extra fence posts and hot tape during this time of the year for this stupid little tiny area I have that drops those dang nuts. Keep them out of it Hogan no matter how long it takes even months. We can't loose McKee.

I do not believe in using hot tape or hot wire as a solo fence as a rule but for this temporary project it does work. Just two strands does it with a separate doggy fence charger a cheapo for ten bucks. This nut crap usually lasts from now until nearly Christmas around here or until they get mashed into the ground. I've actually run them over a million times with my truck and dumped dirt on them when they got done shedding to speed up the process.

I'll pull the post back out before winter. By then the nuts will have gone underground or to the squirrels. We can't get anyone to take our trees down, they are near 70 feet tall and no one we can find will attempt this for less than $8,00 per tree so we are stuck with them for now. But if you are in a situation where you can remove the problem, I'd go with that in a heartbeat and build shade. I've had to do that before, its a pain, but I have done it many different ways which included constructing all sorts of horrid eyesores. Plant some nutless trees in the meantime, some fast growers like ASH trees maybe which are good shade and use tarps, and rig stuff in the meantime as a replacement.

I bought this piece of crap at Walmart in the sporting goods section. It goes higher but I set it down low for more shade.

 

[ljc]

Peggy - Hi from Ojai (I have minis from Susan Hopmans; you came down here with her last year when she delivered Trickster to me).

Anyway, the acorns are just now starting to drop in larger numbers. By this time last year I had fenced off the whole corner of my field (after numerous colics). Until today I've been able to pick them up in the morning before turning the horses out, pick them up again at lunch, and leave it at that. Tomorrow the electric tape is going up because I picked up around 50 today!

Last year I kept the tape up for two months. This year, it's been so strange with the hot weather lasting so long that I don't know how long it'll be.

I use a solar charger and put up two strands of tape. Given how dry the ground is, I have to wet the ground around the grounding poles every morning to keep the charge good.

Good luck!

Liz

 

[Peggy Hogan]

Hey Liz and Marty

Thanks so much for the input. I'm a bit frantic right now since it's obvious they really like the taste. (Guess it sort of developed over the last 3 years)

Anyway, my charger is solar and the ground is dry so I'll have to figure out how to keep it hot enough to keep them out. So Liz...you kept the tape up for 2 months? That should be consistent with us since we're in the same general area.

So are there any reports on how few acorns it takes to make them sick? I guess it's not like Oleander, but just how toxic is it?

Also Marty...The shade thing looks great....what time did you say happy hour was?? I can catch a flight LOL. This kind of stuff makes me slightly "nutty" with worry (as I'm sure it does with most the mini owners here).

thanks again...

 

[Davie]

Acorns are extremely toxic and expecially for pregnant mares can cause early abortion. Amber Oaks had several mares abort from acorn toxicity, in fact I went on to own one of them. After that Amber Oaks had every acorn tree on their property cut down and they replaced them with a different type of shade tree. While those tree were growing up they put temp tarp shades up in several places in each pasture.

 

[h2t99]

In 12 years of having land with several oak trees we have never had any problems with our minis, large horses or donkeys. They eat them and yes the broodmares also eat them. My question is if they are so bad then how do wild horses survive? I think that the reason people have trouble is when the horses are bored and eat to many, we fed round bales when we were on dry lots, so the horses always had something to graze on all day that way they did not gorge on the acorns. I am not saying they are not toxic but I also am not going to say that they are going to kill your horse if he should eat some.

Ok flame suit on, I am just relating our experiences and a little food for thought!!

 

[Peggy Hogan]

I wonder if there are different toxicity levels for different types of acorns????

Guess I'll have to get my tail in gear and do some research. Still, I'd hate to take a chance.

....I welcome all input...thanks!

 

[Marty]

Hogan I do think the levels of actual poison has to do with the type of the tree itself. I think the green acrons are more toxic than the others, and I have green right now, however being a nut and exposure to an abundance of them would make me think that we'd see a bout of colic would occur pre-toxicity and maybe it takes a period of time and a lot of acorns injested to reach a level of toxic during a course of time. I mean honestly, common horse sense tells me not to let a little bitty mini horse sit there and gouge itself on big nuts for fear of colic let alone a big horse. I'll be going "nuts" when the oak leaves drop in another month. Oh that one is so fun when the wind blows them all over the place. Regardless, my friend a breeder here lost some big horse broodmares one year and the necropsy revealed severe poison due to acorns so I don't take chances no way no how.

Edited to add: I think anyone that is concerned (or not) should consider calling their local Ag Extension office for information. Don't know about the different species of the trees, but I think they are not all created equal, ergo the acorns are probably different from one region to the next. You never know.

Also, the age of the tree itself has something to do with it.

 

[Jill]

I haven't read the responses but my own two cents. We have lots of oak trees. Some years, we have lots of acorns, some years not very many. Some years, they fall and it seems like the horses stand there eating them as they hit the ground. We rake them up, but we cannot always get them, well NEVER can get them all, before they eat some. What we've found is that the younger horses seem to be bothered by them more than the older horses. We've had a couple very mild colic type issues, real mild, and that is all. I'd say it's best to get them up as well as you can, but with mature horses, you are less likely to have a big problem with them than with younger ones.

 

[Peggy Hogan]

I have a friend who is a breeder of minis. She has a well known operation. She also has oak trees, but they are a different type. I don't know, like Marty said, I'm not going to take the risk since to my way of thinking the minis are so much more vulnerable due to size.

It is interesting that this tree is loaded this year, more than I've ever seen.

Anyway, I really do appreciate all of the input.