While eating a full diet of oak leaves and acorns may be toxic, I know
that many horses can live on land with hundreds of oaks, eating all the leaves
and acorns they desire, and probably 99.99% (or more) of the horses are fine
with it. We have 50 oaks on our 5 acres. The foothills in CA are covered with a
variety of oaks, black, blue, live, white…and thousands of horses. The
only problem I ever had was with our laminitic POA
that learned to scoop the acorns into her grazing muzzle and brought on a flare
up of laminitis. I think the oaks are more bothered by the horses than
vice-versa as many horses like to chew the bark off. Pigeon fever/dryland
distemper more likely. Did you check the spot under the horses belly that pests
constantly attack?Do ;you
use the War Paint on the belly? If that is constantly open & sore, it could
be letting bacteria in.
Kathy
"Before we bought our property I very nearly passed it over because of the
three large red oaks behind the house. The leaves of red oaks are toxic to
horses. Thankfully they are far enough away from the paddocks that the horses
can not reach them.
While I've had my horses snatch a mouthful of oak leaves while riding
with no apparent harm, a large quantity can be dangerous.
Various varieties of oaks live throughout North
America. Horses will eat the leaves if there is no other food
available. Water may be contaminated by fallen leaves. Acorns are also toxic if
eaten in quantity.
This is one source that indicates that some oaks are toxic to horses.
There are others if you do a search. That was the only thing that raised
a red flag in your post. Maybe they are just eating atiny
bit, not enough to kill them or make thme really
sick, just enough to cause symptoms. A vet can do a panel that includes
kidney and liver function, which will indicate if the horses have had an insult
that has affected their kidneys or liver. Money well spent in this case,
as any damage is likely to be cumulative. You may need to get rid of the
trees, or at least be diligent on removing all fallen leaves and acorns.
Best of luck,jeri
