# My horse ate "Pokeweed" and scared me to death!



## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 16, 2014)

I have NO idea why he suddenly thought it might be a good idea to eat some pokeweed but he had a horrible reaction and began coughing and vomiting. I really didn't know what was going on until I remembered seeing him pulling at a weed from the other side of the fence. Never even gave that weed a second thought actually, they grow all over the place but I've never seen our horses eat it. I went and looked it up and found out it is POISONOUS to horses!!! :-( Thankfully he didn't seem to have eaten very much of it and I hope he learned his lesson! I tried to get him to drink some water but he refused. He had green slime coming out of his mouth AND nose. The poor dear finally stopped coughing and just stood there for a while. I kept checking on him and he eventually started grazing. He is ok this morning but how scary!!!!


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I am glad he seems ok but, just to be sure, please call the vet and at least tell him what happened.

The vet may say "he's good", or he may want to give you some sort of oral meds. I don't know.

The other day, I saw my 19 year old TWH reach over the fence and grab hold of a tall weed that Mr. WTW hadn't gotten to with the weed whacker. That horse grabbed that 3 feet tall weed and pulled it out of the ground like nobody's business:shock:

Before I could get to him, he decided he didn't like the taste and managed to spit out the part in his mouth. He is 19, he has 20+ acres of lush pasture, he is a long way from starvation because his insulin resistant fat self wears a grazing muzzle.

It so happened, the sun had gone down and I had taken his muzzle off for his last hour of grazing before coming in the barn. My thanks for that was he thought that big weed on the other side of the fence looked tasty. Why? I dunno, the weed didn't grow to 3 feet overnight, he's been looking at that weed for awhile

Meaning, who knows why on earth your horse grabbed that Pokeweed but, I would call the vet and have a phone chat, just to be safe

This is further to my comment on other threads that horses are born with a death wish either for themselves or their owner:-(


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 16, 2014)

For anyone who might be curious as to what "pokeweed" looks like, here it is... it can get really tall and have berries on top. It is EVERYWHERE in our pastures...


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## Cherrij (Jan 30, 2013)

Kill it with fire!! 

Anyway.. well apparently i have some poisonous plants in my pasture too - he doesn't touch them at all.. just kills them with his feet.. 

But be careful, if a horse starts vomiting, which is like impossible for them, he might not be with you for long. I would check with the vet. I have learnt that phonecalls to the vet are totally worth it.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Technically speaking horses can't vomit (send their stomach contents back up en masse) - which is one of the reasons colics are serious business for them. But they do have a long oesophagus, from which things can re-surface when a horse is choking.


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

Horses don't actually "vomit" as we know it. Backpressure from a blockage CAN force stomach contents back up though. Also, a choke letting go CAN look like vomiting. That said, poke is VERY bitter and nasty, and I can see why a horse might choke on it and spew. Bet he doesn't do THAT again.


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 16, 2014)

Well he had a lot of saliva/green slimy bubbles coming out of his mouth/nose. I read that the pokeweed can make your mouth feel as though it is on fire. Poor boo! He is ok today.. this happened last night. My BF is home all day and sees them often. It said to watch for diarrhea too...


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## 40232 (Jan 10, 2013)

GeorgiaGirl said:


> For anyone who might be curious as to what "pokeweed" looks like, here it is... it can get really tall and have berries on top. It is EVERYWHERE in our pastures...
> View attachment 478177


THAT'S POKEWEED? -scrambles out to pasture-

I am so glad my horses have never had the temptation to eat it :shock:


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

They will only taste it once.....


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

KylieHuitema said:


> THAT'S POKEWEED? -scrambles out to pasture-
> 
> I am so glad my horses have never had the temptation to eat it :shock:


Yes, we also have a lot of it:-(

I'm originally from above the Mason-Dixon line; folks in my area tell me this stuff makes an excellent salad if cut in early Spring. There reaches a point where it becomes toxic to humans as well. I opt to just not eat it at anytime

Those of us old enough to remember, this lousy toxic weed is from whence the song "Poke Salad Annie" came from

This isn't the original but it's the best IMHO, as Johnny Cash is singing with Tony Joe White





 
Bet a bunch of you young-uns didn't know about this song


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

You must pick only the top tender leaves, boil it for 10 minutes, drain, add water and cook til tender. That's what they tell me here anyway. Don't want some.

And I've done more than my fair share of steppin' to THAT old tune!


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## rookie (May 14, 2012)

The most annoying thing about pokeweed is that birds eat it and poop purple all over everything and that makes more pokeweed grow. I would be tempted to try the fire solution but that a "controlled burn" next to an old barn, a new barn, the highway and a local business might not be received well by the locals. Or the business owner (aka my dad). That would just be all kinds of awkward. "hey Dad, good news I got rid of the pokeweed, bad news the business you spent thirty years building is burned to a crisp."


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 16, 2014)

It's so easy to pull up by the roots but man, it's everywhere and there are THORNS on it!


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

No thorns on poke. You must have something else growing. Pigweed?


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## GeorgiaGirl (Jun 16, 2014)

No it is exactly the weed in the pic I posted. They don't make poke salad out of this particular type. I know what you are thinking of but this is different...


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Yes they do! I've eaten a bunch of it (same weed) but in the spring when it is small and tender. In the spring, the Poke Salad leaves are bigger, the stalks smaller and it is a lot more tender (but still poison).

You just have to boil it a couple of times and throw out the water. Husband likes it scrambled with eggs after it has been drained well. He grew up on it.

We have it along the fences in all of out small traps where the brush hog can't get it. We use the weed eater on it when we get time. I've never seen a horse eat it in all of the years I have been around it. You see a lot of it along fences and around brush piles.

I'll bet it is like dogs trying to eat a toad. They only do it once.


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## shaggy (Dec 8, 2010)

Yup my grandma and I spent many a day picking poke for poke salad before she passed. Once they grow tall they grow berries and become poisonous. Thankfully this stuff doesn't grow in the pasture where my horses are and is easy to spot and pull if I come across it.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I remember Elvis singing "Poke Salad Annie". Anyways, that weed doesn't grow here, although that is a nice looking plant.


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## LyraFreedom (Jan 13, 2013)

Um may be a stupid questions but... YOU CALLED THE VET RIGHT?? ahhhhh

And horses cannot through up..


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Why bother a vet for this? The horse spat it out, not like it ate the whole darn plant, hence why the OP thought her horse vomited, it was spitting out the chewed mess.


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## Mandy87 (Aug 7, 2013)

Ahhh! I have that weed all over my pasture! I don't think my horses have ever tried to eat it though.....


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## Chessie (Mar 13, 2012)

Ugh!!! I hate that stuff! I agree, kill it with fire!!! Only that doesn't work because there will be a large tuber underground that you have to dig up, or it just comes right back. 

It is by far, one of the worst weeds ever. 

If you're looking to get rid of it, wait for a rainy day, then break out the shovels. If you keep digging it out, eventually you can eliminate it.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

2-4-D kills it very easily. But, if it has gone to seed in that area previously, it will keep coming back there. Grazon P + D has a pretty effective residual and keeps it gone a lot longer, but it will still eventually come back. 

We consider a LOT of weeds to be much worse than Poke Weed and a lot harder to kill. Blackberry bushes, Bindweed and Canada Thistle come to mind first.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Seeds will live 40 years in the soil. If you keep it mowed or cut off at the base as far down as possible then it won't come back from the root. It usually only comes up in disturbed areas and is easily out competed by grasses. The worst poisonings I have seen are from hay that it has been baled in but that is a rare occurrence. There are nightshades with thorns but I have never seen a pokesalad with them. None of that genus have thorns. Sometimes there may be small prickles at the base of the fruit.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

The OP said green stuff came out of the horse's mouth and nose. This sounds like choke, not an allergic reaction. Many chokes clear on their own, but do watch for respiratory infection.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

The roots are the most toxic part of that plant
I would imagine that the horse produced tons of saliva to try to counteract the bitter burning sensation in its mouth and that's what was drooling out


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Pokeweed is just one of a long list of common plants that are toxic to horses (oak leaves, acorns, Red Maple leaves, Johnson grass-if you're unlucky enough to have it growing in your area, Azalea, etc, etc, etc,). Pokeweed is one of the ones that is toxic for most livestock (cattle, goats, etc). Fortunately they don't tend to like the taste which cuts down on the chance of having that problem (although I've seen hungry horses eat acorns so they will try things when hungry or even curious enough). Pokeweed is easier to get rid of then wild onions.
They also can like weeds that you wouldn't think about (and fortunately are not toxic) like begger ticks and beggar lice plants (not so much the annoying seeds). Luckily those aren't toxic to them. Although Cocklebur plants are toxic as well as their burs being annoying to remove from tails.

If you pick Pokesalad young it does make a passable greens for human consumption. Just cook it like you would any other greens (turnip, mustard, etc...) Don't wait until the berries start to form. You want to get it while it's young and tender. Some pokeweed greens with wild onions, cattail root, dandelion salad and fire roasted fish or snake and if you're lucky a couple of handfuls of Huckleberries or a May Apple (make sure it's ripe..they're toxic to humans before ripening) to finish it off. There has many a time I'd have loved to have been able to pull all that together for a meal.


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