Little Known Colic Trigger: Pasture Fertilizer

Never graze horses on grasses that have been treated with fertilizers or weed control products labeled for lawn use. In fact, it may be illegal to use these products on pastures or lawns that are used for grazing. Contact your equine veterinarian or county agricultural extension to learn what fertilizers, weed control products and pesticides are safe for your pasture.

• Lawn fertilizers are often time-released products, slowly disbursing nitrogen into the lawn for weeks. The pelletized fertilizer can exist on the soil surface for several weeks. In large amounts, nitrogen is toxic to your horse. Even in lower quantities, it is very irritating to your horse's stomach and a common cause of spring colic.

Pasture fertilizers also contain nitrogen but they are formulated for quick absorption into the soil, providing there has been at least 1/2" of rainfall. Even so, keep horses away from newly fertilized fields for at least three weeks. Be sure the grass has greened up and grown to a minimum of 3".

• Lawn weed control products are not subjected to the rigorous testing that is required for pasture products.

• Also be aware that many lawn pesticides were registered before 1972 and never tested for many health hazards such as carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, and environmental dangers. Lawn chemical companies are not required to list all the ingredients on their containers and many toxins are listed on the label as "inert". These "inert" ingredients can include benzene, xylene, components of defoliants like Agent Orange, nerve gas type insecticides and artificial hormones. The EPA list for inert ingredients permitted in non-food pesticides is 93 pages long!

Be particularly cautious if the label shows any of these ingredients: 2,4-D, Dicamba, Mecocrop and Dacthal (herbicides) as well as Captan, Diazinon and Dursban (pesticides). These chemicals were registered without a full safety screening. Visit the Pesticide Action Network to learn about non-toxic alternatives.

If you truly need to graze your lawn, manage it as a pasture and only use agricultural fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides that are labeled for pasture use.

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