[Onions: not a horse feed (author’s transl)].

This article analyzes the detrimental effects of feeding onions to horses over a prolonged period, leading to severe haemolytic anaemia that ultimately caused one horse to die.

Introduction to the Study

• The research was triggered by an incident where two horses became sick, and one eventually died after consuming onions over an extended period.
• This case raised questions about the safety of onions as part of the horse’s diet and led to further investigation into this problem.

Study Circumstances

• The study took place during a time when the horses’ intake of grass was significantly reduced due to heavy snowfall covering the pastures.
• The reduced availability of their regular diet might have led the horses to eat more onions, posing the question whether the quantity of onion consumption directly affects the health of horses.

Investigation and Findings

• Post-incident examinations were performed on both the blood and urine of the affected horses.
• The results revealed severe haemolytic anaemia, a condition where the red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be produced.
• The observed symptoms and diagnosis pointed towards onion toxicity, also known as onion poisoning, as a potential cause for the deterioration of the horses’ health.

Implications of the Study

• The study’s findings provide a clear message that onions should not form part of a horse’s diet, especially over a long period.
• Although the research does not rule out that other factors might have contributed to the horses’ health issues, this study emphasizes the potential dangers of feeding onions to horses.