My horses spend most of their time in a 3-4 acre space. It is surrounded by trees and brush. The open space has no/very little grass (which is a good thing for these horses). When we first moved in the whole area was overrun by what I am pretty sure is wild chamomile (not a plant person!). A few years later, it’s mostly gone, but in the early spring the horses can be seen out there “grazing” on the teeny tiny nubs of the chamomile, which they keep down in their area so it never has a chance to flower. I mostly appreciate that it still provides a shallow root system which keeps the mud and dust down.
But is wild chamomile in that sort of amount toxic? Google says both - toxic and can cause dermatitis and diarrhea, etc, and also can be a beneficial supplement. The horses seem fine, but we’ve had the occasional bout of itchy dry skin and low-grade fecal water events, and I am wondering if that could be why. Does anybody have actual pasture experience with it? I don’t know the species of chamomile but could try to find out.
