Kleingrass is poison to horses. Spread the word!!

[wbwiles]

I've had a few friends just tell me about the death :shock: of their horses ( Weatherford Texas ) because the hay was contaminated with Kliengrass. It spreads into adjacent fields and ruins the hay for equine forage. Please tell your friends to stop planting this foreign African species.

Also the cattle pasture forum is ripe with people advocating planting this poison and evidently unaware how toxic is is and what a problem this is becoming for horse owners.

Seriously, these side affects are what happens when you introduce foreign plants.

 

[callmefence]

I've had a few friends just tell me about the death :shock: of their horses ( Weatherford Texas ) because the hay was contaminated with Kliengrass. It spreads into adjacent fields and ruins the hay for equine forage. Please tell your friends to stop planting this foreign African species.

Also the cattle pasture forum is ripe with people advocating planting this poison and evidently unaware how toxic is is and what a problem this is becoming for horse owners.

Seriously, these side affects are what happens when you introduce foreign plants.

Like coastal Bermuda???
Klien grass was never toxic to horses before the internet. Don't believe everything you read.

 

[bird dog]

On the road to the salebarn there is a pasture with a excellent stand of Klein that I envy every time I drive past. It stays knee deep all summer long except when the farmer cuts & bales it up. There are four horses that spend their life in that field.

Maybe these horses just got use to it? Maybe the answer to the horse folks is to plant it when their horses are young and get them used to it. By the way, its an excellent drought hardy grass that reseeds itself and doesn't require many inputs.

 

[greybeard]

I've heard the 'Kliengrass is toxic' thing (bon jour) but my neighbor's 5 horses been on Klien hay for 5 years now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CHqptjj9E

 

[Brute 23]

Your friends lied to you.

We have quite a bit of Klein grass and yes I have had horses on it. Klein grass can effect the liver of horses and sheep long term.

No horse ate one "contaminated" bale and died.

Klein grass is great for grazing cattle, hay production, and more importantly extremely wildlife friendly. It's far better for native animals than the bermudas most horse people demand.

I suggest you examine your own operation for how it's effecting native wildlife before you tell some one else what the can or can't do on their property.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Are some of you unfamiliar with "Accumulative Toxins". Out west we have some plants that fall into that category.

Apparently other areas do also:

Plants of Texas Rangelands » Kleingrass

rangeplants.tamu.edu

@wbwiles
Thanks for sharing

 

[Brute 23]

Are some of you unfamiliar with "Accumulative Toxins". Out west we have some plants that fall into that category.

Apparently other areas do also:

Plants of Texas Rangelands » Kleingrass

rangeplants.tamu.edu

@wbwiles
Thanks for sharing

Your article says exactly what said? See below. Read the highlighted sentence from your link.

"WITH LONGTERM EXPOSURE, LIVER DAMAGE MAY BE LETHAL IN HORSES".

I find it funny people who have never had horses and kleingrass think they are experts.

 

[Brute 23]

Here is a new kleingrass field we added just last year.

 

[callmefence]

I've got my doubts that it's anymore toxic than any other grass. I've had horses , sheep and goats all grazing Klein grass and hay all their life. All grass can have various issues when the stars line up.
Something happens and it gets put on the internet and off it goes. Kinda like purssic acid in Johnson grass hay. Look at how many people think that's a thing...

 

[Brute 23]

I've got my doubts that it's anymore toxic than any other grass. I've had horses , sheep and goats all grazing Klein grass and hay all their life. All grass can have various issues when the stars line up.
Something happens and it gets put on the internet and off it goes. Kinda like purssic acid in Johnson grass hay. Look at how many people think that's a thing...

If we took away every thing a good horse can kill themselves with there would be nothing left.

 

[J+ Cattle]

My only problem with Kleingrass is that I'm in North Texas and it is subject to winter kill if we have an extreme winter. My neighbor had a small field of it that he would bale but having to reseed the field every few years wasn't paying out. But for the record he fed that Kleingrass hay to his horses with no problems.

 

[Chevy]

Interesting. I just let our mini horse Naynay do what she wants. I never knew horses was supposed to have special horse grass. Naynay eats in the pasture runs with the cows sometimes I tie her in the yard.

 

[Rafter S]

I like kleingrass, and have sold it to horse people and haven't heard anything back. I have some that was planted over 30 years ago, and is still going strong.

 

[greybeard]

I never knew horses was supposed to have special horse grass.

Whut..you never seen all the ads for "horse hay"?

(When I first heard people start saying that term, I thought they were talking about Jorge.)

 

[Chevy]

Whut..you never seen all the ads for "horse hay"?

(When I first heard people start saying that term, I thought they were talking about Jorge.)

Why yea but thought it was for special horses, high dollar horses or something.

 

[greybeard]

Nope. For 'special' buyers with average horses.

 

[Farmerjon]

I like kleingrass, and have sold it to horse people and haven't heard anything back. I have some that was planted over 30 years ago, and is still going strong.

Yeah, but are any of them REPEAT customers??? Ha (supposed to be a joke)

 

[Hereford2]

Yeah Johnson grass is supposed to kill horse's and cow's.... Our horse's and cow's Love It!!!

 

[Rafter S]

Yeah Johnson grass is supposed to kill horse's and cow's.... Our horse's and cow's Love It!!!

It can at certain times, especially if it's stressed. After it's cut and dried out it's okay, so hay isn't a problem.

 

[Hereford2]

So far we haven't had a problem with them eating it straight out of the pasture fresh or as hay in the last 65 year's.