Crested dog tail - control?

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JillA

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One of my paddocks is full of the stiff, stringy stemmy with tiny flower/seed heads. No 1 greedy monster who is on restricted grazing (track, with a little more opened up daily) won't eat it now it has flowered although he ate the leaves earlier on. He just tramples it and poos on it (see photo, after he has done his thing!) - anyone got any experience of control? Is topping the only answer? Bit hard to get hold of people just now, they are in the middle of hay and silage.
Photo of seed head for info (it was identified from that by an ecologist friend)
 

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We seem to have a lot of it this year-but then we have a lot of everything this year! But the grass my ponies won't eat hasn't been invented yet. I like it, its important for butterflies. If your horse is already on weight control, does it matter there's something he won't eat?
 
MotherOfChickens said:
We seem to have a lot of it this year-but then we have a lot of everything this year! But the grass my ponies won't eat hasn't been invented yet. I like it, its important for butterflies. If your horse is already on weight control, does it matter there's something he won't eat?
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Trouble is he walks all over it, stomps it flat and then poos in it. It's like trying to pooperscoop spaghetti (I think, not that I have tried !). Not sure they will eat it come winter - friend said that in her hay wasn't eaten if there was a choice
 
It apparently doesn't like wet ground-which is probably why we here have more of it this year as its been pretty dry. I think people are struggling with plants they wouldn't normally because of last years summer and the dryish winter. Not sure what you could do other than mow and collect it before it seeds. I am struggling to compute that some horses won't eat it lol (sorry, not helpful!). Borrow a native like an Exmoor or Fell! (you can have mine!).
 
I would borrow the tenants calves but he told me it is bad for cattle, the tips graze their eyes. Yes, amazing isn't it - would be interesting to see whether a native would eat it. Contractor spoken to about topping it when said greedy monster has done grazing around it
 
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