Ear maize is subject to moulding and can be contaminated by mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A and roquefortine (Weidenbörner, 2012). It is recommended to test for these mycotoxins before feeding ear maize to livestock (Meyer, 2015). Maize is also subject to fumonisin contamination (Heiniger et al., 2002), a risk particularly acute for horses, as a small concentration of fumonisin may induce a fatal neurological condition called mouldy maize poisoning, or equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) (Huntington et al., 2002).
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