Welcome to another cheerful edition of the a-z of plants that don’t like your horse. Today’s plant is one most will recognize, they are spectacularly pretty – especially in the autumn. Luckily Red Maple Trees are fairly easy for horse owners to recognize & avoid.
A Little About Red Maple Trees
Acer rubrum is also called Red Maple Tree. This is a medium tree with green leaves that have bright red stems, in fall leaves go bright red. Bark is smooth & gray on young trees & dark on older trees. Flowers are red.
How Dangerous Is It?
While horses won’t generally eat trees, this one is particularly dangerous after storms knock leaves within reach of grazers. Two pounds of leaves can kill a full-grown horse, so it’s highly dangerous & horses should be kept well away at all times. Red Maple contains an unknown toxic component that does damage to red blood cells.
The wilted leaves of this plant are toxic & can be fatal to equines.
What To Look For
You know your animal the best, so you should know when something is amiss. Red Maple Tree toxicity symptoms include darkening of mucous membranes, weakness, loss of appetite, central nervous system depression, dark, discolored urine, shallow breathing, high pulse, dehydration & abortion in pregnant mares.
Learn More
Be sure to check out the Red Maple Tree page to learn more about the plant & while you are at it why not check out more toxic plants?
*It should be noted that we’re not veterinarians. This information is written specifically for horses & should be used for reference purposes only. If you think your horse has eaten something toxic call your vet right away.