Field FULL of Ragwort and horses grazing - who would you report it to?

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Mine are currently grazing on a field full of ragwort. They have plenty of grass and leave the ragwort alone. I have been waiting until the plants flowered to dig them up as I have heard that it is easier to stop them spreading when they are flowering - whether this is true or not I don't know, but if horses have plentiful grazing they won't eat the ragwort while it is growing - it becomes palatable when dead.

Perhaps the horse owners are managing their field as I am managing mine? Mine will be all dug up this week.

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They may not eat a whole plant but they will nibble the edges of the leaves as they graze around it and the effect is cumulative - GET RID OF IT!!!!!!!

ETA some of them will eat it! And unless you have owned all your horses for all their lives you have NO IDEA whether or not they have already ingested ragwort so a nibble could be enough to tip them over the edge.
 
Hello All
I made a website about ragwort http://www.ragwort.jakobskruiskruid.com/ The aim of this website is to distinguish facts from myths by using a scientific approach based on research and advice from biologists, toxicologists, and other experts. In this way, we want to determine the nature and scale of the problem that Ragwort presents to our horses and other livestock. In this way, I would like to contribute to a solution of the Ragwort problem.
If you look by background info you can see about how the poisoning works but also what you can do to manage the pasture, there are also a button for the myths.

Best regards Esther
 
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Hello All
I made a website about ragwort http://www.ragwort.jakobskruiskruid.com/ The aim of this website is to distinguish facts from myths by using a scientific approach based on research and advice from biologists, toxicologists, and other experts. In this way, we want to determine the nature and scale of the problem that Ragwort presents to our horses and other livestock. In this way, I would like to contribute to a solution of the Ragwort problem.
If you look by background info you can see about how the poisoning works but also what you can do to manage the pasture, there are also a button for the myths.

Best regards Esther

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I've just had a quick browse - what an excellent website - and thank you for posting it.
Nice to see science disseminated so clearly.
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S
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-----whereas I think the RSPCA would act faster.=====

not in my experience

i reported the field next to my house, looks like a crop of rape its so bad and had over a dozen coloured cob mares and foals in, they were eating it as it was all that was growing

actually words from the rspca guy over the phone...well what do you want ME to do about it...?
waste of time
 
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Mine are currently grazing on a field full of ragwort. They have plenty of grass and leave the ragwort alone.

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That is one of the most stupid comments I have read for a while. I don't understand why anyone would risk leaving it. Get a ragfork and get it out as so as you see it.

HORSES WILL AND DO EAT RAGWORT AT ANY STAGE.


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My sentiments exactly!!!!

I must admit that i was quite shocked to read that from MrsElle
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Thanks for all the replies, I am going to go down there on my bike over the weekend to see if anything has changed, and report to DEFRA.

I am also shocked at some of the replies on this thread - grazing your animals on ragwort, is it really worth the risk? If it only had a couple of plants I wouldn't have noticed, but the whole field is covered in the stuff!
 
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sorry if this makes me unpopular please dont shoot me down in flames but what people do on their land is there business.

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Yep - what flissy_mare said!!

Have people really got nothing better to do than go around reporting people with ragwort?!
 
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Yep - what flissy_mare said!!

Have people really got nothing better to do than go around reporting people with ragwort?!

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So are you that if people choose to slowly poison their horse we should just say 'Their horse, their choice' and just leave it?

What about beating them with whips til they bleed, tying them up to metal posts and not giving them water...not your horse not your problem I would imagine?
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A friend of mine (who going away on holiday) and lives near to my horses has fields of ragwort with horses living in them. I'm supposed to be looking after their horses while there away - my OH and I will be over there with a petrol strimmer and chopping the stuff down before it seeds.

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Congratulations - you will be turning somewhat unpalatable and easily identifiable ragwort plants into dried palatable ragwort trimmings that the horses have a problem sorting out from the grass
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Either pull it out properly or leave well alone.
 
QR Anyone know who I can talk to in NI?

I have seen two fields this week with more ragwort than grass...the fields were also woefully small for the amount of horses grazing so they would probably be more likely to eat it.

I know she is a controvertial poster on here, but any unbelievers would do well to remember what happened to Deja's two ponies last year.
 
You are 100% correct. There is absolutely no point in responsible horse owners spending hours ragwort pulling only to have their field reseeded from weeds on public land.

It is a national disgrace.
 
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sorry if this makes me unpopular please dont shoot me down in flames but what people do on their land is there business.

smile.gif


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Yep - what flissy_mare said!!

Have people really got nothing better to do than go around reporting people with ragwort?!

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How irrisponisible!! It is absolutely crucial that anyone with ragwort irradicate it from their fields. You might as well say that if people are shooting poachers on their land, then it is up to them. Horses dying are everyones concern and it is just as well that people are prepared to report irrisponsible people who cannot be bothered to rid their land of it!!
 
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QR Anyone know who I can talk to in NI?

I have seen two fields this week with more ragwort than grass...the fields were also woefully small for the amount of horses grazing so they would probably be more likely to eat it.

I know she is a controvertial poster on here, but any unbelievers would do well to remember what happened to Deja's two ponies last year.

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Why the hell should it be contravertial?? Anyone who grazes their horses with mass ragwort should be prosecuted, in the same way they would be if they mutilated their horse in any other way!!!
 
im in despair about the neighbours field, its a mess. which means im going to have to go in there myself


question...since ragwort is a biennial what would happen if i just cut all the flower heads off the neighbours weeds? it flowers in its 2nd year according to my poison plant book
 
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question...since ragwort is a biennial what would happen if i just cut all the flower heads off the neighbours weeds? it flowers in its 2nd year according to my poison plant book

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Then ragwort makes more stems and more flowers, you can't kill the plant by cutting or mowing etc. you can see it on the picture.
herstelvermogen%20Jakobskruiskruid.jpg


Best regards Esther
 
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QR Anyone know who I can talk to in NI?


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DARD (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) would be my first port of call.
 
What you can do if ragwort grows near is making he hedge. That works very well, the hedge catch the seeds. ( most seeds fall near the plant) Maybe you can look about seed dispersal in this page.
http://www.ragwort.jakobskruiskruid.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=3

Once common ragwort has established itself in a horse pasture it is very hard to control the plant. It is, for instance, not easy to remove the plant manually. To be effective, this requires removing the entire plant, including all its roots, because even from small root fragments new plants can sprout. Manual removal is therefore generally only effective when fighting seedlings and rosettes, because larger plants are often too deeply rooted to be removed without leaving root fragments behind. An additional disadvantage of pulling ragwort is that this disturbs the soil, which may result in the surfacing and subsequent germination of tansy ragwort seeds that may be present in the seed bank.
Furthermore, soil disturbance creates a suitable environment for incoming common ragwort seeds to germinate. Another form of ragwort control is preventing the plant from producing seeds. Because ragwort is a plant with a short life span, it is sometimes thought that if the ragwort cannot propagate itself, it will eventually disappear from a field. Unfortunately, also this method is not always successful. In a natural situation common ragwort dies after flowering and subsequent seed production . Removal of the inflorescence by mowing or cutting, however, may cause the plant to sprout again the same of following year, prolonging its life span .
Using herbicides to control ragwort is also no guarantee for success. The products that are frequently used are absorbed by the leaves and are subsequently transported to the other parts of the plant. This, due to the large size of full-grown common ragwort plants, might take some time and is often only effective when the plants are still seedlings or rosettes. When applying herbicides, it is important to make sure that the plants are not under stress (for example, by drought or extreme temperatures). It is therefore best to apply herbicides in favorable weather conditions when the plants are actively growing. Selective herbicides such as 2.4.D and MCPA do not kill grass and are therefore preferable.

Best regards Esther
 
i cant use herbicides, i have to dig them out, just thought it might work on the neighbours land if i just chopped the heads off to save me some work, bah!
 
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A friend of mine (who going away on holiday) and lives near to my horses has fields of ragwort with horses living in them. I'm supposed to be looking after their horses while there away - my OH and I will be over there with a petrol strimmer and chopping the stuff down before it seeds.

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Congratulations - you will be turning somewhat unpalatable and easily identifiable ragwort plants into dried palatable ragwort trimmings that the horses have a problem sorting out from the grass
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Either pull it out properly or leave well alone.

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Do you think? Of course I would have removed and burned said ragwort - but I guess the stalks in the ground would cause a problem. No need to be rude about it, it just never occured to me.
 
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question...since ragwort is a biennial what would happen if i just cut all the flower heads off the neighbours weeds? it flowers in its 2nd year according to my poison plant book

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Then ragwort makes more stems and more flowers, you can't kill the plant by cutting or mowing etc. you can see it on the picture.


Best regards Esther

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Agreed - I was digging up some ragwort last night and kept seeing plants with a stalk cut off and new shoots and flowers growing around it - the owner of the field tops the field occasionally.
 
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A friend of mine (who going away on holiday) and lives near to my horses has fields of ragwort with horses living in them. I'm supposed to be looking after their horses while there away - my OH and I will be over there with a petrol strimmer and chopping the stuff down before it seeds.

[/ QUOTE ]

Congratulations - you will be turning somewhat unpalatable and easily identifiable ragwort plants into dried palatable ragwort trimmings that the horses have a problem sorting out from the grass
mad.gif


Either pull it out properly or leave well alone.

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Do you think? Of course I would have removed and burned said ragwort - but I guess the stalks in the ground would cause a problem. No need to be rude about it, it just never occured to me.

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If my "rudeness" has saved you from turning your friend's horses' avoidable danger into a tasty snack I think it was both worth it and justified, don't you?
 
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A friend of mine (who going away on holiday) and lives near to my horses has fields of ragwort with horses living in them. I'm supposed to be looking after their horses while there away - my OH and I will be over there with a petrol strimmer and chopping the stuff down before it seeds.

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You can make it worse with chopping, I mentioned that before in a post.
Naturally ragwort dies after flowering. Not al the seeds become a new plant, they need a goed spot to grow. When you take care for the horses of your friend I wouldn't do anything about the ragwort, now it is fresh and if the horses have enough food they won't eat it. Maybe you can make a managementplan for the future together? Prevention is easier than cure. Prevent the good spots for new ragwort plants, it is difficult I know that but is is the best strategie.

Best regards Esther
 
My field is covered in ragwort. It's a joke. I spend an hour a day going around it, can't get on top of it and when I think I have it sprouts up again covering the field! I try my hardest to dig it up, they're all at the rosette stage, don't let it get to floweing stage. Got lots of White clover too. Trouble is they've eaten all the grass now and all that's left is big patches of this clover so now I worry that they'll go onto the ragwort. They're in during the day but can't keep them in 24/7. Livery owner knows I have a problem but doesn't seem to take it seriously. He's spraying it in oct but I can't carry on like this. By law does he have to help me eradicate it now? I dunno where I stand. I must stress though that daily I'm in digging it up but as quick as I'm doing it, it's coming back!
 
I'm working in Yorkshire (Bradford / Pudsey) at the moment. Every time I come down here in the summer I'm staggered at the number of horses grazing in fields that are full of ragwort.

Mind you, I am also suprised to see Steptoe & Son are alive and well. Can't believe the number of carts pulled by piebald cobs carrying scrap metal you see around here.
 
I think its terrible that people who believe they are a good horse owner can actually leave the weed in a field with their horse.

'The Animal Welfare Act of 2006' the owner of a animal should provide and suitable environment and also protect their animals from pain, injury, disease and suffering.

IMO leaving ragwort in a field is a big no no.
 
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