# Fescue founder?



## TRAILRIDER (Apr 16, 2007)

Has anybody had any experience with fecue founder? I had the extension office come to the farm to test our hay last week. The agent mentioned fescue founder, since my mare is badly foundered and gets worse every year. 
Since I also have dairy goats, and the only two who were bred this time failed to conceive (another problem with fecue endophytes) I have to wonder. 
Of course, my mare is prone to founder in every way imaginable. Obviously has metabolic syndrome, has naturally flat feet (now dropped soles) and is an easy keeper (being a wild caught mustang from Wyoming.)


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

I've been in KY for 12 years now and have done a lot of reading about fescue as I breed horses and there can be severe side effects on pregnant mares from fescue. It can also be a factor in fertility as well, I'm told so it is possible it could have been an issue with the goats. However, I have never heard of fescue being a specific culprit in founder.

I've dealt with 'grass founder' in horses, but that is any kind of lush, spring grass, not just fescue. I've had ponies and horses both that had to be on limited grazing, especially in the spring when they were going to an all-hay diet to being turned out on spring pastures.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

What SFM said about grass founder. 2 out of my 12 horses get full time access to the pasture this time of year, 7 of them get 6-7 hours a day, and the 3 minis only get a couple of hours a day. I had a pony that was prone to laminitis and couldn't be out on green grass at all.

Being in southern IN fescue is a given here too. From what I learned fescue is not a problem for conceiving it comes into play at delivery time. Can affect labor and also make the sack too thick for the foal to break through. Can't remember if I was told or read that the main problem was when it went to seed and got tall enough to bend over. Been out of the breeding business for several years now and I don't keep up with info like I used to so they may have learned new things about it. However, we kept our pastures mowed and never had a bit of problems with the mares being out on it.


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## mountainwmn (Sep 11, 2009)

I've never heard of founder just from fescue. Tall fescue can be infected with something that causes foaling trouble. But it's only tall fescue, and only it it has..ummm, I don't remember..its some kind of infection, but it makes is a very hardy grass. 
Fescue is a very common type of grass, and my last place was deliberately planted with infected tall fescue. I never had any trouble but I kept the brood mares on a dry lot the last 4 months of pregnancy.


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## Waiting Falcon (Nov 25, 2010)

Fescue and cause horrific damage to horses, My cousins had a beautiful TB filly they had raise. She was turned out to pasture- improved fescue at 4 years of age. Four days later a neighbor saw her down but no body checked on her. She was down 10 days before getting vet care. She was totally ruined only able to move by shuffling .
Fescue causes heat in joints of horses , quick treatment can help but you can never put them back on fescue. 
Some horses can eat and thrive on fescue as well as breed and foal. Others will founder quickly on it. 
Deep study on fescue will tell you most creatures suffer adverse effects on fescue. Quail eggs have low hatch rate, rabbits can have problems,- anything that lives in or eats any part of the plant can have problems. 
People can also have adverse reactions. My daughter played in the tall grass before it was combined. She broke out wit sores all over her body. 

If you think your horsehas founder, I would remove it from fescue , if there is heat in the joints call a vet and keep the joints cool by running cold water over them.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Waiting Falcon said:


> Deep study on fescue will tell you most creatures suffer adverse effects on fescue. Quail eggs have low hatch rate, rabbits can have problems,- anything that lives in or eats any part of the plant can have problems.


When I was researching fescue when I first heard about the issues with horses, I accessed a study done by one of the southern universities and ended up talking to the professor that had been in charge of that study.

Most cattle people do not consider fescue to be a problem and nearly all of the pastures contain fescue in some amount. This study, as I recall, showed that there did seem to be an effect on cattle that were pastured on fescue. The fescue group "breeding group" had a slightly higher percentage of cows that were not bred and the "feeder" group had a slightly lower average weight. It also found that the cattle on fescue pasture had slightly elevated body temperatures and it was felt that this may have been one of the factors that played into the fertility rates and the lower feed conversion rates.

There definitely can be problems related to fescue and while it does seem to be much more pronounced with horses, it isn't limited to equines either. There is also some evidence that horses that are raised in fescue areas may have more tolerance to the effects than horses that are brought in as mature animals with no prior exposure.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Not with founder but I did have a mare that seemed to get breathing problems on it. No fescue- no problem.
Around here it was impossible to get anything but fescue hay for most of the year. I ended up buy a year's supply of any non-fescue hay that showed up when it did.
It is possible that my one gelding with chronic laminitis had a problem with it as I had the worst time trying to keep him on any grass but if so, I never figured it out.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

I had a 4yr old paint mare founder in her R front hoof. I let my fescue go to seed one yr before I mowed my pasture and evidently she was walking around eating the seed heads. My farrier cut the front part of her hoof off and 2 drops of pus came out. He put a shoe on her backwards and I soaked her hoof in very hot water 2X per day for 2 wks.
She got over it but I really had to watch her as once they founder, it is easy to repeat. Lightning killed her and her mama 2 years later.


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