Mediterranean Tall Fescue/Endophyte Combination Might Be Fatal to Horses

A new, potentially fatal syndrome in horses called equine fescue edema has been reported by Australian scientists in the Australian Veterinary Journal. The researchers noted that all affected horses in the study were grazing pastures sown with Mediterranean (winter active) varieties of tall fescue containing endophytes, and have suggested that a combination of fescue variety and endophyte strain
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Editor's note: The following article has been revised from its original version.


A new, potentially fatal syndrome in horses called equine fescue edema has been reported by Australian scientists in the Australian Veterinary Journal. The researchers noted that all affected horses in the study were grazing pastures sown with Mediterranean (winter active) varieties of tall fescue containing endophytes, and have suggested that a combination of fescue variety and endophyte strain might be the culprit.

Most tall fescue planted in the United States is of different, Continental (summer active), varieties (such as KY-31). There have been no reported cases of equine fescue edema in horses grazing Continental tall fescue varieties with this endophyte strain.

"This is a new form of toxicity to horses in any country; it has never been encountered anywhere before," explained Christopher A. Bourke, PhD, a principal research scientist at the Orange Agricultural Institute in New South Wales, Australia, and the lead researcher on the study

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