Horses!

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Sep 2021
9:06pm, 4 Sep 2021
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RooA
I mentioned this in my blog but I'll say it here too because I'm seeing more and more posts elsewhere about it and the problem seems to be country-wide...

If you have any standing hay with seed heads on that you haven't grazed yet, go and check it for ergot (nasty poisonous fungus that develops on grain). Also be very careful of hay or haylage that might have been cut late this year.

This isn't something I've encountered before but it seems like this year's weather has caused an outbreak of the stuff!

Sep 2021
9:33pm, 4 Sep 2021
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Chimbo
I had never, ever heard of this* until your blog, so thank you for raising awareness.

*whenever I use the word 'ergot' it's to the farrier - "please trim Liv's ergots, the bloody things have grown loads again..." 😂
Sep 2021
9:44pm, 4 Sep 2021
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RooA
I'd heard of egotism and ergot with respect to humans eating contaminated bread/grain... and I knew it was "the done thing" to top ungrazed fields before autumn... but I hadn't made the connection.
Sep 2021
10:05pm, 4 Sep 2021
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jennywren
I’ve heard of ergot but never seen it and didn’t realise it was an actual fungus. It’s a proper poison-your-brain thing in humans I think.
Sep 2021
10:19pm, 4 Sep 2021
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RooA
Yes it's nasty. 😥

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Maintained by Jen J
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