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poisonous plant watch

***********being updated***********

back soon! 20/4/11

Bathurst burr

This weed  is poisonous to horses.

 

Factlist:

Latin Name:    Xanthium spinosum Linnaeus

Where it came from: 

Where in Australia can it be found?:

All states but is prevalent in northern Victorian districts

 

 Did you know?: 

Where does it like to grow?: 

Bathurst burr is common in pastures (particularly around stock yards and watering points) and occurs frequently along water courses.

 

WHAT ABOUT OUR PONIES AND HORSES?

 

Signs of ACUTE poisoning are 

Hydroquinone (said like hi-dro-kwin-een)is present in the seed and is in the young plants, making the seedlings toxic to horses (and sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and poultry.) Poisoning may result in depression and death, nausea and vomiting happens but not of course in horses as they cannot throw up, so horses could present as a bit colicky. Luckily poisoning is not a major problem in Australia, the plant is not usually grazed because of the long spikes!

 

GETTING RID OF IT

If you spot it in your paddock, tell your Mum or Dad about it and they can help you find a way to get rid of it...

 

To stop Bathurst burr you have to prevent the seeds for at least four to six years! And you have to kill any other plants that do come up.Improving your grasses on your paddock combined with herbicide treatment is the recommended method of control in grazing padocks.Seedlings (remember these are more likely to be a problem to your horse or pony) and individual plants can often be pulled up by hand (wear gloves). Hoeing or slashing needs to happen before the burrs come. Plants with burrs should be collected and burned. Remember...only your Mum or Dad is allowed to start a fire!!!!!

 

*If you choose to poison it, call your shire council weeds officer or Agricultural officer to get advice on herbicides and follow those instructions very carefully.

  

You can get further information from the internet by googling 'bathhurst burr'

Handy Tips...

Please email me if you have a handy tip or trick for looking after your horse or pony...it can be anything! Share your knowledge!!

 

For the itchy :

Faces, manes and tails, here is another 'potion' that is seeing a lot of success in the States...mix up equal parts of Baby Oil, mouthwash (listerine for example...but the bi lo mouthwash works too!), and white Vinegar. Shake it well before applying and spray onto the tail and mane after you have given them a good shampoo..and here's another hint, Wool Wash works great! Good for horses with sensitive skin and it gets them so clean and shiney! Seems to help if you really make sure the lotion gets to the skin.

 

Tail itching may not be from just the midges or mossies...or even because they need worming now...make sure that Mares are clean between their udders and Geldings and Stallions have clean willies (you might need help from an adult for doing these jobs...some horses really don't like it and might kick...so don't try this job without experienced help until you know your horse is ok with the procedure, ok?!

 

Saltbush is really helping local Byron Shire horses with the itch...gets the hair growing very quickly too. It (by manufacturers recommendations) should be fed at 250gm per day over two feeds. They say to start with a handful, but so far the horses seem to take to it quite well!(caveat here...as the phosphorus level is relatively high you may consider not to feed on to stock on Siteria or those recovering from Bighead)

 

ticks

The Baby Oil/Vinegar/Listerine potion also apparently works on Ticks...thoroughly wipe over legs and face, mane and tail, and belly...and for sure underneath the jaw before going into infested paddocks. Be very careful not to get this anywhere near the eyes when you do the horse's face! It is apparently working to stop the ticks biting ...but it definitely works to suffocate the ticks that you might already find feeding off your horse. The added bonus is that the preparation stops them being itchy from the bite AND it works as an antiseptic to prevent infections, cool huh?

Peppermint oil apparently deters ticks quite well...placed on the coronets seems to help keep some numbers down. You can't be too generous though (dont' use a lot) as you could make your horse ill.