There can be a number of reasons why a horse might have performance problems. A diagnosis can be frustrating, but one reason that might be overlooked is mycotoxicosis. It wasn’t until recently that the significance of mycotoxins was realized, said Thomas Buckley, MS, head of microbiology at the Irish Equine Centre. Buckley presented “Coping With Mycotoxin Contamination: Protecting Equine Performance and Health” at the sixth annual Equine School at the Alltech Symposium held in Lexington, Ky. Buckley said The problem of mycotoxicosis costs millions of dollars annually for the Irish horse industry.

This topic was particularly important to horse breeders in Kentucky the past couple of years when mycotoxins were under scrutiny as potential contributing factors in mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). Extensive testing of Kentucky horse pasture during 2002 did not detect any levels of mycotoxins in most pasture fields. Where mycotoxins were detected, it was at very low levels, and these were not correlated to MRLS