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As many of you know, there is a pretty large number of plants that are actually toxic to horses and I during my years writing this site I’ve begun to catalogue & photograph as many of them as I can find. This is the Week #1 of my Toxic Plant of the Week series and I’m starting at the beginning with African Rue.
A Little About Rue
Peganum harmala is African Rue and I couldn’t find any other common names for the plant. This is a bright green succulent herb with segmented, alternate leaves and white flowers with five petals.
How Dangerous Is It?
Generally horses will find African Rue unpalatable, and it is only really a concern during drought conditions. However, ingestion can cause gastroenteritis, and hemorrhages on heart and under liver capsule so it’s probably better to keep it away from grazing areas.
Leaves, stems & seeds are the toxic parts of this plant.
What To Look For
You know your animal the best, so you should know when something is amiss. African Rue symptoms can include weakness in the hind legs, loss of appetite, excess salivation, listlessness and below normal temperature.
Learn More
Be sure to check out the African Rue page to learn more about the plant and while you are at it why not check out more toxic plants?
*It should be noted that I’m not a veterinarian. This information is written specifically for horses and should be used for reference purposes only. If you think your horse has eaten something toxic call your vet right away.