Friday Feeding Tips

Our precious horses are very sensitive to mold in several ways.

It is vital that we never feed anything that is moldy to them or we can risk some very serious health implications from it.

So I wanted to elaborate on how mold can be deadly to our big fur babies.

Just like us if horses breath in the spores of mold it can cause serious respiratory illnesses. The major one being Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO) which is commonly known as heaves. It is similar to asthma in humans.

Now the more deadly part of mold is that once ingested they can produce mycotoxins. In small numbers it may just make your horse quite unwell but if the mold reproduces rapidly then the mycotoxins will then become deadly to your horse.

The mycotoxins will affect the intestinal wall of the hind gut which can lead to colic.

They can also enter the bloodstream and cause significant damage to vital organs and also cause neurological problems.

Always check your feed for mold and if you do find mold then throw it away and report back to the seller with some photos (nice and professionally!).

And lastly never ever feed lawn clippings as this is a rapid breeding ground for mold.