The mild temperatures and abundant moisture recently experienced in New Jersey are primarily responsible for the abundance of flowering weeds sprouting up in pastures and paddocks. While buttercups are usually not eaten and dandelions are not toxic at all, horse owners everywhere should be aware of a potentially dangerous "look-alike" called catsear.

Buttercups are toxic to horses; however most horses will only eat them if there is inadequate forage in the pasture and if they are truly hungry. If your horses have abundant, nutritious grasses also growing in their pastures and/or have free access to hay, do not panic if you see a few of these flowers as they likely won’t consume an excessive amount. If horses do eat a large amount, buttercups can cause oral irritation and pain.

Dandelions are not toxic and actually are fairly nutritious for horses, so if you see your charges helping with dandelion control, it is not cause for concern.

However catsear, which looks very similar to dandelions, is a potentially toxic plant for horses. It has yellow flowers that look like dandelion flowers, but the two plants differ in stem and leaf structure