Is it Horsetail or Marestail?
The confusion with these two different plants may well be the similarity in the name, also Horsetail, a non-flowering
plant, does not appear in many wild flower books, whereas Marestail does flower and is often featured.
Horsetail weed, is a deep-rooted fast growing weed with dense foliage. The
leaves have a waxy coat, making the weed difficult to eradicate. Correct and regular treatment with glyphosate weed killer will eventually kill the plant, more about that later.
Marestail is an aquatic weed, Hippuris vulgaris, commonly found in ponds, slow
flowing streams, bog land and even poorly drained domestic gardens. It is often the weed blamed for causing problems in cultivated gardens, when the real culprit is the Horsetail weed.
The Horsetail weed has survived our attempts to wipe it out for millions of years and just as you think you have
killed it all, it will appear again. Once you have cleared this weed from your garden, don't dig over the area for at least a year, otherwise the Horsetail weed is almost certain
to spring up from the root cuttings. The roots penetrate deep into all types of soil from clay to sand and wet to dry and even a one inch length brought to the surface by digging
can grow into a new plant.
The effect of Horsetail weed on horses
It is a real garden pest, a gardener's nightmare, but to Grazing horses it is worse than that, it is dangerous!! destroying
Vitamin B in the horse's blood. When mixed with hay, the toxin has a greater effect than in the fresh plant.
Symptoms of Horsetail poisoning in Horses are:
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weakness
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stumbling
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arrhythmia of increased pulse
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irritability
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death