Eating Ragwort

Please get rid of ragwort! I had a pony put to sleep due to liver damage and it was incredibly traumatic... as others have said the damage accumulates over time. Chances are the pony we had already had damage when we got him and then something tipped him over the edge (we were removing ragwort from our grazing regularly but maybe we missed some, we'll never know exactly what happened).
 
HollyWoozle said:
Please get rid of ragwort! I had a pony put to sleep due to liver damage and it was incredibly traumatic... as others have said the damage accumulates over time. Chances are the pony we had already had damage when we got him and then something tipped him over the edge (we were removing ragwort from our grazing regularly but maybe we missed some, we'll never know exactly what happened).
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I'm so sorry for your loss. :(

Sadly for the reasons stated in my previous posts, it's not easily done on someone else's land. Unless our YO decided to undertake a huge clear-up of the whole land, our attempts are thwarted by our horses being moved to different fields, or our existing field being re-contaminated.

Mollie's current field is free of it. Myself and the owners of her fieldmates have removed every bit, for now.
 
I think the internet is a bit like religion you can use the stories to support either way, I prefer my fields free of ragwort I prefer that my neighbours remove ragwort but I dont believe really it is as dangerous as everyone make out purely because with enough other things to eat they simply dont eat it what worries me far more is the use of Conifers and privet as shade and shelter plants as in my experience these are far more palatable and far more toxic as a result than ragwort. Almost all evergreens are heavily laden with alkaloids as it is a form of antifreeze for them
 
I lost a 2 year old to liver failure it was awful and wouldnt wish it on anyone but hers was due to conifer addiction and wasnt evident it was fatal until too late to save her. She had done so much damage in a short time while we were away on holiday she had no chance of recovery She was the only one who would go through the electric fence a wire fence and barrier fence to get to it she was so addicted Initial diagnosis was grass sickness and as a result the vets were unable to save her and she was PTS as an emergency when she finally collapsed while we were waiting for a destruction notice from the insurance
Got it over the phone about an hour after she was shot
 
It really bugs me when people say 'horses won't eat ragwort if they have enough grass..' - absolute rubbish.
Some won't but just as many will, like people they have different tastes for things and I have known several horses to die from liver failure from suspected ragwort poisoning, and not only was it a very distressing way to go, but the horses concerned never lacked food.

One of mine had a taste for it, and I once had to ride him through parkland that was waist high in the stuff (it was an event and I had no choice over the route), the whole way he was grabbing at it, and I was pulling it out of his mouth as fast as it went in. Very traumatic for me.
 
FionaM12 said:
Is that true though? I read on one of the sites when I was trying to find out just how dangerous it really is, that there's no danger at all in touching it. That particular site said it has to go through the gut to be harmful, and that the only danger of touching it was allergy/irritation, common to all the sunflower family.

The trouble is, I don't know which if any of the info on the internet can be trusted. :(
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That is he problem, - we have always been told never to touch it, then some internet site disagrees with it.

Agree with LittleblackMule above also, I have a youngster who has plenty to eat, and today I found her eating a plant I missed and had just pulled, and placed beside me just for a moment
 
Have just been pulling ragwort on neighbouring land with more to be done in the coming weeks.
I looked at every plant pulled and out of around 50kg only one had anything feeding on it – ONE hoverfly, and there was no evidence of any being eaten by caterpillars, all I pulled looked incredibly healthy.
Where we live the verges, moorland areas and sadly many fields are full of bracken and ragwort both of which are smothering out the other less rampart wild flowers.
I have people stopping and saying that ragwort has been ‘down graded’ and is no longer a injurious weed, there are even those who believe we should be growing it in our gardens to help nectar feeders – all thanks to the pro-ragwort groups.
Pro-ragwort lobbyists say we should maintain our fields properly and buy hay from a reputable supplier, that sounds all well and good. I do try to keep my paddock clear but rosettes keep appearing, possibly seeds are still in the soil as I understand they can lie dormant for 20 years – but also we live in a windy area and seeds travel from the surrounding hills much more than the 30/40yds quoted. Yes, anyone producing hay commercially has to guarantee their forage is ragwort free but unless they grow their grass in a ragwort free bubble this is almost impossible - especially if some well meaning gardeners are actually growing ragwort nearby for the insects. It also requires the use of more herbicides to ensure the hay is safe.
‘Ragwort hysteria’, as some like to call it, is not new or confined to horse owners. The dangers of this plant have been known for centuries because it kills all animals that eat enough of it – horses, cattle and chickens just happen to be more susceptible than some others, but kill it does especially if it’s in hay or silage.
I’m sure I’ll get a reply from someone telling me I’m over reacting but as others here have posted, death from ragwort poisoning is not pleasant. 25kg will kill a typical 500kg horse which is only just over 1 kg a year over a not untypical 20 year life span of a horse. Or at the other extreme a horse would be killed if just just 200g of ragwort were in each of the 120 bales of hay my horse eats each year.
 
Some Councils are not dealing with Ragwort on any of their land this year, to save money, Surely they are breaking the law? can they not be fined or whatever?
 
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