Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horses dying from ragwort poisoning - what to know
By Giles, C J·Published in Equine veterinary journal·1983·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Outbreak of ragwort (Senecio jacobea) poisoning in horses.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
On a farm, five out of twenty horses died after being poisoned by ragwort, a type of plant that can cause serious liver problems. It seems that the horses got the toxins mainly from grazing on the pasture rather than from hay. For the horses that survived, blood tests showed high levels of a liver enzyme called gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), which can indicate liver damage. However, not all horses with high GGT levels showed signs of illness. Overall, the treatment and management of the situation were not fully detailed, but the elevated GGT levels helped identify those at risk.
Abstract
Five out of 20 horses (25 per cent) on one farm died from an acute hepatic encephalopathy typical of ragwort toxicosis. Circumstantial evidence implicated pasture rather than hay as the principal source of the toxic alkaloids. Plasma levels of gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were determined on three occasions in all surviving ragwort-exposed horses. Elevated GGT levels were a useful early indicator of hepatic damage although not all horses with this biochemical sign developed clinical disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6136403/