All parts of this plant are poisonous (see the information sheet on autumn crocus in hay, available under ‘Downloads’).

The autumn crocus resembles a crocus and flowers in autumn. The problem is that by this time its leaves have long since withered or been mown up and can therefore end up in the hay. As the plant remains poisonous even when dried, ingestion by horses can lead to colic, bloody diarrhoea and circulatory failure, and even death.

We therefore recommend that you carefully check the hay for unwanted plant matter both when purchasing it and before feeding it to your horses. If you are still unsure, you can have an ‘analysis for botanical contaminants’ carried out by AGES:

To take a sample, collect approximately 1 kg of hay from different bales. 1 kg of hay is roughly equivalent to the contents of a tightly packed shopping bag. You can send the sample, together with the order form for feed testing, to the AGES Institute for Animal Nutrition and Feed. The costs of the analysis and further information can be found under ‘Price list for analyses of contaminants and undesirable substances in animal feed’.