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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

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Sunday - May 16, 2010

From: Denver, CO
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Poisonous Plants
Title: Is arborvitate (Thuja sp.) safe for horses
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Is arborvitae poisonous to horses? I want to plant it along the horse pasture. If it is poisonous, what are similar plants that are not poisonous to horses?

ANSWER:

Neither Thuja plicata (western arborvitae) nor Thuja occidentalis (eastern arborvitae) appear in any of the toxic plant databases listed below:

ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant Lists—Horses

Poisonous Plants of North Carolina

Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock

Toxic Plants of Texas 

University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants

Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System

This is a pretty good indication that it would be safe to plant in your horse pasture.

 

 

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