Believe it or not, the H’s are a rather big category in the a-z of plants your horse can’t eat. Today’s plant is difficult to pronounce – and Heliotrope is equally as dangerous.
A Little About Heliotrope
The Heliotrope species is also called Scorpion Weed. This is an evergreen annual shrub with soft wood. Leaves are elliptic, wrinkled and hairy. Fragrant flowers are purple/white and grow in tubular clusters.
How Dangerous Is It?
This plant is not palatable to equines and generally only a problem during drought conditions – it can be found incorporated into hay. This plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can cause liver failure.
All parts of this plant are toxic (highest concentration in the leaves) and can be fatal to equines.
What To Look For
You know your animal the best, so you should know when something is amiss. Heliotrope toxicity symptoms are often called “walking disease” or “sleepy staggers” and include loss of appetite, weakness, yawning, loss of coordination, jaundice, aimless walking, constant chewing motions, gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea and colic.
Learn More
Be sure to check out the Heliotrope 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.