A young woman has warned parents to be alert after a poisonous plant nearly killed her pony.

Baffled Georgie Worsdell, 20, called the vets when her pony struggled to remain upright at a field in Fawkham one morning while pus-filled scabs were dotted around his body.

After a course of antibiotics and bute – an anti-inflammatory painkiller – the animal made a full recovery but Georgie says she was told his survival was “touch and go”.

Researching plants in the field, she discovered wild parsnip growing. Sap from the weed can burn skin and cause a painful rash, causing some councils to post signs alerting to its dangers.

She now fears the toxin could pose a risk to children in the field after reading reports some youngsters have ended up in hospital with severe burns and blisters.

Georgie, of Temple Hill, said: “I always check the plants within our fields, but not one of the books I cross-reference with said anything about the toxin and the effects it has.

“I ended up finding out all about it on Canadian and American websites as the health authorities deal with many cases each year due to this plant.

“My pony was not himself. I checked him over but could not find anything wrong with him. It was raining, which he normally mopes about in, so that’s what I put it down to.

“The next day he was very unsteady on his legs and didn’t want to move. As I checked him over I noticed that he had a lot of scabs on the inside of his rear legs.

“I got the vet out. Mum said she thought it was toxic shock but the vet said it nothing like that and that it was his liver and brain. She took bloods, which came back all clear, he had antibiotics and bute. It was very touch and go as to the outcome.

“Then my niece’s pony had scabs come up and didn’t want to move. Luckily, my other horse has been all right but then his coat is thicker and he’s bigger than the other two.

“We made up our own wash and cream to treat them with and I am glad to say my boy is still alive and back to his normal cheeky self. My niece’s pony is still in a bit of pain but is much better.

“If it can nearly kill a healthy pony that has never been ill before, then I hate to think what it can do to a child if they walked through it, or a small animal.”

In June 2013, Carmarthenshire council issued a warning to park users to keep away from wild parsnip after incidents of people being burned in recent years.