Horses’ rejection behaviour towards the presence of Senecio jacobaea L. in hay

Abstract

Background Senecio jacobaea contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can induce severe hepatic intoxication in horses, either acute when ingested in high amounts or chronic when consumed over a long period. The aim of this study was to determine horses’ rejection behaviour towards the presence of Senecio jacobaea in hay when fed ad libitum. We hypothesized that adult horses can sort Senecio jacobaea out of the contaminated hay when hay is fed ad libitum. Six warmblood geldings with a mean (±SD) age of 15 ± 2 years were included. In a randomized study, Senecio jacobaea contaminated hay (5% or 10% contamination level) was provided at several timepoints over the day for 1 hour to six. Hay was provided ad libitum for the rest of the day. The horses’ rejection behaviour towards Senecio jacobaea was observed. If a horse ingested two Senecio jacobaea plants twice at different timepoints, then the horse was excluded from the experiment. Results Two out of six horses had to be excluded from the study after three out of 12 observation periods due to repeated Senecio jacobaea intake. Two other horses had to be excluded after nine and 11 out of 12 observation periods. Only two horses were able to sort out the various amounts (5 and 10% contamination level) of Senecio jacobaea during the whole experiment. Conclusions Horses’ intake of Senecio jacobaea cannot be avoided despite being fed with hay ad libitum. Due to the risk of chronic intoxication by pyrrolizidine alkaloids intake, feeding Senecio jacobaea contaminated hay must be avoided, and pastures with Senecio jacobaea growth are considered inappropriate for feed production.

Horses’ Response to a Novel Diet: Different Herbs Added to Dry, Wet or Wet-Sweetened Oats

“…The amount of food offered in our study was constant, hence, the consumption time, not speed, could be considered. Earlier findings indicate that various plants added to feed may accelerate consumption or, on the contrary, inhibit it or cause rejection behaviour from the horses [ 6 , 34 ]. Horses may feel a need to consume certain herbs with wide therapeutic properties when their body faces different afflictions.…”

“…The size and duration of a meal are regulated based primarily on the degree of hunger the horse was experiencing when it started to eat [ 4 ]. Not all horses reject poisonous plants and not always, which has been studied exemplarily concerning Senecio jacobaea L. [ 5 , 6 ].…”

POISONOUS PLANTS AND PHYTOTOXICOSES IN HORSES (review)

“…Лошади особенно чувствительны к токсическому воздействию растения и обычно избегают этого сорняка, но отравление может произойти, когда животные пасутся на плохо ухоженных пастбищах или когда заражены корма, например сено или силос (71). Содержащиеся в нем алкалоиды вызывают поражение печени с последующим поражением центральной нервной системы, сопровождающимся атаксией и вторичным фотодерматитом (72)(73)(74). Процесс сушки снижает выраженность горького вкуса этого растения, уменьшая избирательность при приеме корма у лошадей (75,76).…”

“…Содержащиеся в нем алкалоиды вызывают поражение печени с последующим поражением центральной нервной системы, сопровождающимся атаксией и вторичным фотодерматитом (72)(73)(74). Процесс сушки снижает выраженность горького вкуса этого растения, уменьшая избирательность при приеме корма у лошадей (75,76). Также немаловажным фактором, влияющим у лошадей на избирательность при потреблении корма, становится формирование у жеребят в период раннего онтогенеза пищевых привычек, в основе которых лежит подражание пищевому поведению своих матерей (77).…”

Correction to: Horses’ rejection behaviour towards the presence of Senecio jacobaea L. in hay

“…Following the publication of the original article [ 1 ], it was noticed that the figure captions are incorrectly captured. Correct figures and captions are shown below (Figs.…”