THE person who did it probably thought they were being kind, but what was supposed to be a tasty treat for a horse, actually caused its death this week.

Someone dumped grass cuttings into the field at Kidderminster where the animal was feeding, breaking one of the golden rules of horse care.

Never allow equines to eat lawn mowings, because the grass can heat up, ferment and become fatal.

As the mowing season moves into full swing, it is an increasing danger at this time of the year and has led the RSPCA to issue an official warning to gardeners about the dangers of dumping grass cuttings in fields where horses and ponies graze.

"The unfortunate horse, a young male colt, died as a direct result of eating grass cuttings discarded in his field," said RSPCA inspector Freda Garget.

"The person responsible may have believed that he was giving the animal a tasty treat. However, the gesture sadly led to the death of the horse.

"Tragically, an animal has died because someone was unaware of the dangers cut grass pose to horses when digested. Now that the summer is nearly upon us, it is vital to advise gardeners of the importance of properly disposing of their grass cuttings.

"Under no circumstances should they be fed to animals or dumped in fields with horses."

Reiterating this plea, David McDowell, RSPCA equine officer added: "Grass cuttings soon start to ferment after they have been cut and if these are ingested they can cause digestive upsets in a number of ways. Gas caused by the fermentation can cause distension of the intestines, the alcohols and sugars produced can cause metabolic problems due to over rapid absorption of nutrients and the bacteria developing in the cut grass can cause enteritis and diarrhoea.

"Any of these conditions would be severely distressing to the horse, and in the absence of prompt veterinary treatment, or sometimes in spite of it, could prove fatal," he said.

"If a horse is in any way hungry or short of food it is likely to consume large quantities of cut grass with harmful results.

"All these conditions would be manifested by colic (severe belly ache) which is very dramatic in the horse often causing thrashing movements of the legs.

"If a horse out at grass appears in any way distressed, a vet should be called immediately."