Horses on a small acreage in Western Australia: what needs doing this September

Fire danger right now — Perth Hills

Fire danger changes daily and by district, and the app checks the official rating for your own address every morning.

What horses need in September

From the care calendar — the things that come round once a season for horses in Western Australia.

1. Spring grass — watch the good doers

   The spring flush is the highest-risk time of year for laminitis, especially in ponies and anything carrying condition. Restrict grazing on lush pasture, and ring your vet at the first sign of soreness rather than waiting.

2. Book annual boosters

   Most horses are due an annual tetanus and strangles booster around now. Your vet will know what yours are on and when they were last done.

3. Snake season — tidy the hiding places

   They come out with the warm weather. Clear long grass and rubbish piles near the house, sheds and feed areas, and know where your nearest after-hours vet is.

Plants in Western Australia that hurt horses

Worth walking the fence lines for. Each one links to the official page with photographs, because a description alone is not enough to identify a plant.

• Weed

  Lantanaalso Common lantana

  Look for

  Sprawling shrub with square prickly stems, rough sandpapery leaves that smell strongly when crushed, and flower clusters that change colour — orange, pink, red, yellow — in the same head.

  Worst

  Any time, but animals eat it when there's nothing else, so worst in drought.

  What it does

  Liver damage and severe sunburn on unpigmented skin — white faces and muzzles blister and peel. Cattle are most commonly affected. Often fatal.

  What to do

  Fence animals away from it, especially newly introduced or hungry animals that don't know better. Never dump lawn clippings or garden waste containing it in a paddock.

  Photos and detail: Queensland Government — Lantana

• Weed

  Paterson's cursealso Salvation Jane, Riverina bluebell

  Look for

  Purple trumpet flowers on hairy, bristly stems, forming a rosette of large hairy leaves at ground level before it shoots up.

  Worst

  Spring, when it flowers and dominates a paddock.

  What it does

  Cumulative liver damage in horses and pigs. Sheep and cattle handle it far better, which is why a horse can be poisoned in a paddock that looks fine for everything else.

  What to do

  Keep horses off heavily infested paddocks. It's the long, repeated exposure that does the damage rather than a single mouthful.

  Photos and detail: NSW DPI — Paterson's curse

• Garden plant or tree

  Oleander

  Look for

  Tall garden shrub with long, leathery, dark green leaves and white, pink or red flowers. Very common in old farm gardens and along driveways.

  Worst

  All year. Dried clippings are just as deadly and more likely to be eaten.

  What it does

  Attacks the heart. A few leaves can kill a horse or a cow. Deaths most often happen when someone prunes it and the clippings end up where animals can reach them.

  What to do

  Know where it is on your place and make sure nothing can reach over a fence to it. NEVER put clippings anywhere near a paddock, a feed area or a compost heap animals can get at.

  Photos and detail: Agriculture Victoria — Poisonous plants

• Weed

  Bracken fern

  Look for

  Coarse triangular fronds on a tough stem, often in big patches on poorer or timbered country and along bush edges.

  Worst

  Late summer and autumn, and whenever feed is short.

  What it does

  Horses get a thiamine deficiency — wobbling, then staggering. Cattle bleed internally and can develop bladder cancer with long exposure. Both build up over weeks of eating it.

  What to do

  Keep animals out of heavy bracken country when there's nothing else to eat, which is when they start on it. Look for it along the timbered edges rather than in the open.

  Photos and detail: Agriculture Victoria — Poisonous plants

• Garden plant or tree

  Avocado

  Look for

  The tree, and anything fallen under it. Common in old house gardens on acreage.

  Worst

  Whenever fruit and leaves are dropping.

  What it does

  Leaves, bark and fruit affect the heart and udder. Horses and goats get swelling of the head and neck; birds are very sensitive and can die quickly.

  What to do

  Fence animals and poultry out from under the tree. Don't throw pruned branches or spoiled fruit into a paddock or a chook run.

  Photos and detail: RSPCA Australia — Plants toxic to animals

• Weed

  Onion weed and other alliumsalso Wild onion, Wild garlic

  Look for

  Grassy clumps that smell of onion when crushed, with small white star flowers.

  Worst

  Spring, and wherever poultry range over garden beds.

  What it does

  Damages red blood cells, causing anaemia. Poultry and horses are the ones to watch.

  What to do

  Keep it out of chook runs and horse paddocks, and never feed onion or garlic scraps to poultry.

  Photos and detail: RSPCA Australia — Plants toxic to animals

• In the water

  Blue-green algaealso Cyanobacteria, Pond scum

  Look for

  Not a plant — a bright green or blue-green paint-like scum on still water, often blown up against the downwind edge of a dam.

  Worst

  Hot, still weather in summer, especially in a dam that's dropping.

  What it does

  Can kill within hours of drinking. Animals are often found dead at the water's edge.

  What to do

  Fence animals off any dam with scum on it and cart water until it clears. Check dams on hot still days — that is when it blooms, and it can appear in a day.

  Photos and detail: Agriculture Victoria — Blue-green algae

Ring a vet now if you see any of these

Not a list to think about — a list to act on. Every one of these is measured in hours.

• Colic can kill a horse in hours and needs a vet now.
• Suspected snake bite is an emergency — antivenom is time-critical.
• An animal that can't get up or won't bear weight needs a vet now.
• Laboured breathing is an emergency.
• A suspected poisoning needs a vet now — what they ate changes the treatment.
• Birthing trouble is measured in minutes, not hours.
• A prolapse needs a vet now.
• Seizures need a vet now.
• Uncontrolled bleeding is an emergency.
• Pale or blue gums mean shock or severe anaemia — a vet now.
• Metabolic collapse is treatable but only quickly.
• Laminitis is an emergency in its early hours — the damage is done while it's still 'just soreness'.
• Choke needs a vet now.
• Sudden eye injury or blindness needs a vet now — eyes don't wait.