[IceHorses] Re: Hay Shortage

[Susan Coombes]

  What IS botulism exactly, and what makes it end up in soil??
Clostridium botulinum an organism that grows in the absence of oxygen. 
It can also survive boiling. It is in soil. It is also in silage 
because it is cut lower to the ground which is why we don't feed it to 
horses. C.botulinum can be present in honey and corn syrup which is why 
we don't feed them to babies until they have stomach acid.It contains 
botulin toxin which paralyses muscles. You can buy that as botox!
It has some equally toxic relatives like C.difficile (potentially fatal 
diarrhoea,) C.tetani (tetanus), C.perfringens (gas gangrene).
Sue UK