The culpret..............clover............Of course with our heat and recent rain, more to come, my pasture is becoming over run with fungal clover. Up until now, I've been able to avoid "Slobbers". Well, no longer. At noon today, Kola aka Miss Sensitive came in with a decent case of slobbers. What slobbers is http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0799salv.shtml . Slobbers is caused by a fungus that clings usually to red clover, however, in my case to white clover. A few years ago, Kola had it for the first time and I called the Vet out, assuming I had completely poisoned her. What happens is explained in that link. Consequently, the horse can dehydrate from over salivating.
So I ran out today and bought this. It smells yummy and comes in a powder form, only my horses will not eat it, even disguised with apple juice and apple sauce. I gave it to them anyway, hoping that eventually they'll give in and finish what's in their feeders. I also soaked their hay with water, figuring any extra hydration I can force won't hurt. The good news is keeping them out of the pasture will allow it to subside and Kola certainly has not lost her appetite.
Here is what it looks like and it continues. The very first time, Kola got this, she was raining buckets out of her mouth. This time although it is still continuing on, even after hours of being out of the pasture, it's not as bad as it was years ago. So pasture closed for now. I've been trying to keep the clover down by mowing, but my effort have been in vain.
7 comments:
I am so sorry to hear that Kola has slobbers! I have heard of this, but have never seen it before. I hope she is okay!
Oh man! That stinks. Good thing it's not usually lethal and you got to it quickly. I've yet to see any clover up here....but of course we barely have any grass either. lol!
~Lisa
Poor Kola! I have never seen this before but have heard of it. Kind of scary to think they can dehydrate so quickly. I went to the site you posted and read the whole thing, good information to have tucked away in my brain if one of my guys should start slobbering. I too try to keep the white clover mowed and don't have the red kind. The deer eat a lot of the white clover here. Thank you for good information and I hope Kola is all better now!!!!
Oh My Goodness! I have never heard of this...we have clover here, and our horses are crazy about it. We are not too terribly far from you, but evidently it is something that does not affect us. I hpe they are all going to be OK. It sounds like you are doing the right thing.
is *that* what it is! our whole herd has been doing that this summer, and I'd never seen it before.
- The Equestrian Vagabond
That's horrible. Hope she's okay! Cute blog.
Best,
Samantha
The HorsePedia Website
I hope Kola is doing better. Fear of slobbers is one of those dark hidden worries that I have every time I see a patch of clover in our pasture. It almost makes all the snow and winter horse care seem appealing. Thanks for the link to the website so I can be better prepared.
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