It’s Monday morning and time to learn a thing or two about a plant your horse can’t eat. Today’s plant is very common and luckily while toxic, the Elderberry isn’t a deadly beauty.
A Little About Elderberry
Sambucus is also called Elderberry. This is a shrub or small tree with leaves that grow opposite and have leaflets. Flowers are white/cream and grow in clusters. Fruit is a red/blue/black/yellow/white berry and grows in clusters.
How Dangerous Is It?
This plant is unpalatable to equines and generally only a concern during drought conditions. However it’s commonly found and good to be on the lookout for.
The stem and leaves of this plant are toxic to equines.
What To Look For
You know your animal the best, so you should know when something is amiss. Elderberry toxicity symptoms include gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea and rarely coma.
Learn More
Be sure to check out the Elderberry 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.