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Home / Equine Research Bank / BMC Vet Res / Horses’ rejection behaviour towards the presence of Se...
BMC veterinary research2022; 18(1); 25; doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03124-0

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

Abstract: 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.
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Publication Date: 2022-01-07 PubMed ID: 34996467PubMed Central: PMC8740075DOI: 10.1186/s12917-021-03124-0Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Veterinary

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research article investigates whether horses can avoid consuming the potentially toxic plant, Senecio jacobaea, when it is mixed with hay. The findings suggest that despite being toxic, horses will not consistently avoid eating this plant, posing a significant risk for chronic poisoning.

Study Aim and Hypothesis

  • The main purpose of this study is to understand if horses can “sort out” and thereby, avoid consuming the plant Senecio jacobaea when it is mixed with their hay feed.
  • Senecio jacobaea is a plant known to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, substances that can cause severe damage to a horse’s liver when ingested in high quantities or over a prolonged period.
  • The researchers hypothesized that adult horses would be able to sort out Senecio jacobaea from their hay when it is fed in an unrestricted manner or “ad libitum”.

Methodology

  • The study involved six warmblood geldings (castrated male horses), aged 15 ± 2 years.
  • These horses were fed with hay that was contaminated with Senecio jacobaea at different levels (5% or 10%) at several timepoints over the day for one hour.
  • For the rest of the day, the horses were fed hay without any restrictions.
  • The researchers carefully monitored the horses to track their behavior towards the Senecio jacobaea. If a horse ate two plants of this type at two separate times, then they were removed from the experiment.

Results

  • Despite the initial hypothesis, the result is not quite promising. Four, out of the six horses, were removed from the study at different stages due to recurring intake of Senecio jacobaea. Only two horses managed to sort out and avoid consuming Senecio jacobaea throughout the whole experiment.

Conclusion

  • The findings are significant as it demonstrates that horses cannot be relied on to avoid consuming Senecio jacobaea, even when hay is provided ad libitum.
  • This poses a serious health risk as the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can lead to chronic liver damage in horses.
  • The researchers concluded that due to the risk of chronic intoxication, the use of Senecio jacobaea contaminated hay should be completely avoided. They also suggested that pastures with Senecio jacobaea growth are inappropriate for feed production.

Cite This Article

APA
Sroka L, Müller C, Hass ML, These A, Aboling S, Vervuert I. (2022). Horses’ rejection behaviour towards the presence of Senecio jacobaea L. in hay. BMC Vet Res, 18(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-03124-0

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 18
Issue: 1
Pages: 25
PII: 25

Researcher Affiliations

Sroka, Louisa
  • Institute of Animal Nutrition, Nutrition Diseases and Dietetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Müller, Clara
  • Institute of Animal Nutrition, Nutrition Diseases and Dietetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Hass, Marie-Lena
  • Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
These, Anja
  • Department Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany.
Aboling, Sabine
  • Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Vervuert, Ingrid
  • Institute of Animal Nutrition, Nutrition Diseases and Dietetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany. ingrid.vervuert@vetmed.uni-leipzig.de.

MeSH Terms

  • Animal Feed
  • Animals
  • Food Contamination
  • Horses
  • Plants, Toxic
  • Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
  • Senecio

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Stachurska A, Tkaczyk E, Różańska-Boczula M, Janicka W, Janczarek I. Horses' Response to a Novel Diet: Different Herbs Added to Dry, Wet or Wet-Sweetened Oats. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 24;12(11).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12111334pubmed: 35681799google scholar: lookup
  2. Sroka L, Müller C, Hass ML, These A, Aboling S, Vervuert I. Correction to: Horses' rejection behaviour towards the presence of Senecio jacobaea L. in hay. BMC Vet Res 2022 Feb 14;18(1):70.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-022-03168-wpubmed: 35164760google scholar: lookup
  3. Kopecka A, Novotna T, Svobodova Z, Drabkova Z. Senecio ovatus poisoning in a horse - A case report. Vet Med (Praha) 2024 Sep;69(9):329-336.
    doi: 10.17221/37/2024-VETMEDpubmed: 39474359google scholar: lookup
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