Grass sickness

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Grass sickness is a rare but often fatal illness in horses. The cause is unknown.^[1] Grass sickness is a non-infectious dysautonomia, or degeneration within the autonomic nervous system. Clinical signs include excess salivation, stasis of the alimentary tract and small hard faeces. Mental depression may also be observed.

The first cases of grass sickness were recorded in eastern Scotland in 1907. Grass sickness affects all types of horses, ponies and donkeys and has affected some well known horses including the thoroughbred stallion Dubai Millennium. It is most frequently seen in young horses aged between two and seven, and is particularly prevalent during April, May and June, and later in the autumn, after a spurt of grass growth.

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grass sickness in horses Horse & Hound magazine (UK)