FEATURE STORY Ionophore Toxicosis POISON IN YOUR FEED BAG Story and Photo by Kim Roe O ne of the joys of horse ownership is pouring grain or concentrates into a bucket and offering it to a happy horse. Concentrates provide our horses with important nutrients and calories they might not otherwise receive. We trust that the ingredients listed on feed labels are what actually ends up in our horses. Studying feed labels allows us the comfort and assurance that we are feeding our horses correctly. Unfortunately, the controls often seen in human foods are not as strictly adhered to in animal feed, and the result can be devastating. Recently, The Northwest Horse Source was contacted by a trainer with a terrifying story. She had recently lost four horses to violent and painful deaths. It appears the horses died from ionophore toxicosis. Ionophores are chemicals added to other species’ feeds, generally cattle or chicken feed. This is why horses should never be fed feed intended for other species. The most common ionophores are monensin and lasalocid. Those feeds are sold as medicated feed; the ionophores increase weight gain in some animals. The poisons dissipate quickly within a horse’s system — almost before any outward signs can be seen, making ionophore toxicosis difficult to diagnose. Due to impending litigation, we can’t use the trainer’s name. It is important to note that she was not feeding cattle or chicken feed to her horses; her belief is that the feed company accidently mixed some ionophore-laden feed into her equine feed. Our hope is to educate readers and help prevent more tragedies from occurring. Here is her story. I checked on him throughout the day to see if he was drinking and still walking. He walked for a couple of hours then casually grazed around for small morsels of hay. It appeared the problem had passed, and by feeding time I felt he looked bright and well enough to get back to routine. I put him in his stall and fed him as normal. While I was feeding, one of the other geldings started trying to go through the walls of his stall. I immediately brought him into the indoor arena and he went down. A few minutes later I saw him get up, walk like a zombie to the end of the arena, flip over the fence at the end of the ring and fall into the ditch. I immediately called my husband and the vet. We tore apart the fence so we could get him up, out, and back into the ring. As soon as the vet arrived she gave him a sedative. One sedative was not enough. As the vet was heading back to her truck for more, the gelding did a 360-degree turn in the air in front of me O 18 ne morning my 5-year-old son let the dog out and said to me, “Mom your horse is lying on the fence.” I looked out and saw that my 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was in fact lying on the fence. I ran outside and saw he was covered with sweat, but cold to the touch, with a small amount of blood coming out of his nose. At first, I thought he was dead. However, when I touched him he got up and walked over to the indoor ring and started walking around. I made the assumption he had colicked, so I closed the gate after putting some water in a bucket for him. October 2017 The Northwest Horse Source www.nwhorsesource.com
The Northwest Horse Source NWHS 1017 Issue: Page 18
