We just moved here and our cow had a stillborn calf three weeks early. We had lived here about a month by that time. Then a week later our mare had a stillborn foal three weeks early! I called the vet and he thinks it's just a coincidence. Then I called the agricultural extension agent and he came over to look over our pasture. He found the following poisonous plants, but doesn't know if any of them would cause late term abortion in horses and cows:

Milkweed Morning glory Chinaberry Wild cherry

Does anyone here know whether any of these plants could cause this, but not cause any other symptoms in our animals? We now have our other expectant mare in a large stall and we're feeding her hay and grain until we can clear up this mystery. Thanks for any help you can provide.

-- Anne Keckler (raymondkeckler@yahoo.com), April 24, 2002

Answers

A year or two ago the Kentucky horse farms were having troubles with their mares aborting. I believe they finally decided that there were caterpillers eating cherry leaves and pooping onto the grass which the mares ate. I believe that the poop was toxic due to the wild cherry leaves. I do not know if they every found a solution for it. I probably would cut the wild cherrys out from the pastures. Good luck.

-- BB (johnson337@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002.

Yesterday on the radio they were telling folks in Ky to not let their pregnant hoofstock out onto the morning pasture because the temperature had been very warm for a week or so then got down to 38. Since they hadn't figured out what was causing the miscarriages they think it might be due to the temperature variations as well as the cherry/worm issue. It was said to be just a precaution but I don't think they would have issued a warning if there wasn't something to it. Then again I could just be reading too much into it. Sorry to hear about your calf. It's so hard to lose the young ones after waiting for months. Blessings,Kathy

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), April 24, 2002.

There seem to be a lot of plants that will cause abortion in cattle. Pine is one of them. Even water with pine needles can make them abort, or a wet pasture with enough pine needles. I guess it makes a sort of tea and the grass soaks it up and they lose the calves.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), April 24, 2002.

The temperature variations makes sense because some forages (sudan grass, for example) are toxic after being exposed to frost.

-- Anne Keckler (raymondkeckler@yahoo.com), April 24, 2002.

I read in an older book that if you put goats with horses and cows that the rate of miscarriages almost completely goes away. No one really knew why. They 'thought' that the goats may be eating any harmful plants before the cows/horses could. The book is titled "Goat Husbandry" By ? McKenzie? I think the copyright date was 1945? Good luck.

-- Michelle Thomas (mpthomas83@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002.

I know wild cherry is toxic, or at least the wilted leaves are. I'm not sure about the other plants you mentioned, though I don't think milkweed is ... I think I remember our cows eating in up in Montana. You didn't mention where you lived, so I don't know if either fescue or mycotoxins could be

I live in Kentucky now. So far this year there has not been a repeat of last years' problems but everyone here is paranoid.

There was no one cause specifically identified as the sole problem. Nearly everything, individually, was ruled out but the thinking is now that one of the factors may have been mycotoxins which may occur in the pasture grasses as a result of the type of weather pattern which was in effect at the time ... very warm, unusually dry and then a sudden cool down and night frosts, producing the mycotoxins in the frosted grasses.

The biggest general problem here (and most of the southeast region where it grows) is fescue grass, which can contain a endophyte that does cause significant problems with pregnant mares (not quite so observable in cattle and other species, but probably some effect there as well) most often tough, thickened placentas which the foal cannot tear, late foaling, difficult foaling (because the foals are late and keep growing) and a lack of milk. However, it can also cause a variety of other problems including, probably, early foaling (and late term abortion).

This year I have had my first mare go early ... 19 days early. No chance of a "miscount" on the date ... she was due May 4th and she foaled April 16th. She was not fully bagged up, but I gave both the mare and her foal the Transfer Factor immune system booster which is produced from colostrum, plus Domperidon to the mare which is a specific for milk production. The mare is milking well and the foal is healthy and if there were immune system factors due to the early foaling and possible low amounts of mare's colostrum, the Transfer Factor seems to have taken care of it.

I now have the second mare, due May 22nd, who apears to be following the same pattern. Started bagging up some 5 to 6 weeks before her due date (4 weeks is pretty normal) and is already starting to soften around the tailhead. I expect her to foal early as well but am hoping that she will go at least to May 8th, which is the earliest the foal would be considered not premature.

My vet tells me to consider both the possibility of mycotoxins (which can also be in the hay as well) or of fescue endophyte ... which can also be either in pasture or hay if this continues through the entire group of foaling mares this year.

-- SFM in KY (sportpony@yahoo.com), April 24, 2002.

Hi, So sorry to hear about your losses. Wild Cherry leaves are toxic to horses, don't know about cows. I believe morning glory vines are toxic as well. However, one of the worst contributors of early foaling and death is fescue, primarily Kentucky 31 fescue infected with the endophyte fungus. This can cause early or premature foaling and subsequent death. Of the horses that foal at the normal time, the foals suffocate as a result of not being able to break the bag surrounding them. Mares as well as cows do not produce adequate milk when on fescue pastures infected with the fungus.

But since you just moved to your new location, I would be hesitant to blame the grass and would look to other possibilities. You can have your grass tested to see if that is possible problem through your AG extension agent. Meantime, I would keep the remaining livestock off the pastures until a solution to the problem is found. Be sure to walk out the mare daily as she can "stock up" from not moving about as she would normally in a pasture. You will notice that from her fetlocks (ankles)looking swollen and possible edema between her front legs extending towards her stomach. Not really harmful, just looks bad and walking the mare will help reduce the fluid retention. Hope all goes well with your mare.

-- Cindy (sidepasser@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002.

Milkweed

Morning Glory

Chinaberry

Wild Cherry

Fescue Grass Will Also Cause Abortions

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002.

We specifically looked for fescue and didn't find any. Now we are wondering how to get out the MANY wild cherry trees without causing even more problems with wilted leaves lying around all over the place. :(

-- Anne Keckler (raymondkeckler@yahoo.com), April 25, 2002.