Mushrooms

[Willow Flats]

Hey All,
We had a lot of fog and then rainy days. So much that there are several varieties of mushrooms growing all over my pastures. I have never had this before since we have been in a drought for so many years. I have no idea which ones are toxic or harmless.
When I lived in the mountains I had a precious dog die from eating a poisonous mushroom. So now I'm a little worried about my horses grazing. Since there is so much green grass would they usually leave the mushrooms alone? I do have a couple of sectioned off pastures and I could make sure one is clear of mushrooms and just let them graze in there and then clear the other one. IDK is that necessary? We have 11 days of rain in a row in the forcast so not sure how much turn out they will be getting!

Wondering if anyone has experience or advice to share.

 

[Kelly]

Yikes, I’d be nervous too, especially after loosing your pup. I would think if they had enough grass or hay then they would leave poisonous plants alone but if I noticed them munching down on the mushrooms, i would definitely move them off that pasture.…but Im just guessing, I’d hate to tell you the wrong thing.…but I sure do love mushrooms …from the grocery store

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Doubt they will mess with them. I get toadstools here after a rainy session and my horses don't bother them. I would be more concerned about all that fresh green grass causing hoof separation. That has happened to me when we've had a moist fall with new green grass.

 

[Willow Flats]

Thanks for the warning Marsha! I picked all of their feet yesterday and they looked ok and the farrier is scheduled to come out on Monday.

 

[Cayuse]

Well this is something I've never thought about. I get weird mushrooms in my field as did my neighbor's farm years back and the horses never touched them. They were round about the size of a baseball (sometimes bigger) without a stalk/stem and would dry out and turn purple in the Fall. Us kids would stomp on them and they'd poof out this noxious looking purply-grey smoky pollen stuff. To be honest, I still stomp on them .
Can you contact the local Extension (if you have one) and have them identify them for you? I'd be cautious about them, I think, until you know for sure.