UC Davis veterinarians fear CA drought has altered hay & caused a new disease in horses

[Emily]

This brings to mind last summer's flaccid paralysis in CA children and the sea star wasting syndrome on the west coast.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/...-undetermined/

Dozens Of Horses Mysteriously Sick With Undetermined Condition
August 6, 2014 5:54 PM
PHELAN (CBSLA.com) ? A mysterious condition has left dozens of horses sick and owners searching for answers the high desert.

...
Veterinarians tested the hay that Melline believed to have caused her horses? illness; however, no toxins were found in the test results.

According to UC Davis veterinarians, recent drought conditions may have altered the hay, causing illness to spread among the horses...

enenews.com

[Emily]

Re: UC Davis veterinarians fear CA drought has altered hay & caused a new disease in horses

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/343...ses-become-ill

Chuck Burt, co-owner of the Diamond C Hay and Feed Co., in Phalan, California, said area horse owners purchased alfalfa hay from the feed supplier in late July. After feeding it to their animals, however, some owners reported that their horses developed sunburn-like signs while other owners said their horses' signs of disease as chemical-like burns, Burt said. Some owners attributed their horses' conditions to tainted hay.

?It was nice hay,? Burt said. ?It was raised well. It was just beautiful; it's a mystery.?

Diamond C subsequently provided samples of the hay for testing at both UC Davis and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Burt said.

Results of the CDFA tests remain pending. But tests conducted by UC Davis veterinary toxicologist and professor Birgit Puschner, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ABVT, indicated the hay did not contain any foreign substance that could cause photosensitivity.

?There were no weeds, noxious or otherwise, in the alfalfa,? Burt said...

I'm wondering about the GMO status of this batch of hay.

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar...falfa-20140313

Center for Food Safety sues USDA over genetically modified alfalfa
March 13, 2014|By David Pierson

A food safety group filed a lawsuit in hopes of forcing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release documents in court that could explain why the federal agency approved genetically engineered alfalfa despite its misgivings about environmental safety.

The Washington-based Center for Food Safety said Thursday the USDA may have come under pressure by seed giant Monsanto Co. to grant approval of its Roundup Ready alfalfa, which is designed to withstand multiple applications of herbicide.

?USDA determined Monsanto?s Roundup Ready alfalfa posed significant environmental and economic harms and initially proposed placing restrictions on it. Yet the agency went ahead and granted full unrestricted approval one month later,? Andrew Kimbrell, executive director for the Center for Food Safety, said in a prepared statement. ?Did the White House intervene? Did Monsanto pressure the agency? The fact is we don?t know, and unless the court orders USDA to hand over these documents we may never know.?...

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...alfalfa_c.html

Genetically modified alfalfa confirmed in Washington test sample
By The Associated Press
September 13, 2013 at 5:15 PM, updated September 13, 2013 at 5:29 PM

[Emily]

Re: UC Davis veterinarians fear CA drought has altered hay & caused a new disease in horses

http://www.vvng.com/phelan-horse-own...t-tainted-hay/

Phelan Horse Owners Concerned About Tainted Hay

Posted by: Christie Martin in Featured Stories, News July 29, 2014

UPDATE: 7/30- Victor Valley News strives to not only provide real news real fast but also accurate and up to date news. The following is an update based on information we received. We can not confirm the validity of the source of the tainted hay by either party providing information at this time. We have received information from two sources that the Alfalfa Hay in question was not from one of the two Bishop growers and they have reason to believe the origin of the Hay affecting the horses came from a Barstow grower. The information provided by Diamond C Hay and Feed is believed to be that received by their distributor, which at this time will remain nameless. Victor Valley News is working on investigating the issue and the origin of the tainted hay...

Could this be the culprit? Being a fairly new pest in CA they might not be suspecting it yet.

celosangeles.ucanr.edu/newsletters/High_Desert_Crop_Notes40082.pdf

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
High Desert Crop Notes Summer 2010

Alfalfa Blister Beetles Appear in Barstow Fields
A few fields located in the Barstow area were found in July with this pest that can contaminate forage and cause the death of feeding animals.
DAMAGE
Blister beetles (Scientific Names: Epicauta spp., Lytta spp) do not cause widespread feeding damage to alfalfa; however, they contain a chemical, cantharidin, that is toxic to livestock. Cantharidin is contained in the hemolymph (blood) of the beetles and may contaminate forage directly when beetles killed during harvest are incorporated into baled hay or indirectly by transfer of the hemolymph from crushed beetles onto forage. As the name implies, handling these insects may result in blisters, similar to a burn, on the hands or fingers. Blister beetles have been a serious problem in alfalfa in the northern United States, the Midwest, and the south for many years, but until recently have not been a problem in California.