Horse eating ragwort

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Smogul

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I have always been told horses only eat ragwort when there is nothing else available or it is dried and mixed in with forage. At the weekend, grazing my pony in hand, I realised he was tucking enthusiastically into some ragwort. I removed him from this temptation immediately but I would be interested to hear if anyone else had seen this. The field I was grazing him in had great grass (normally used for dairy cattle but cleared for our event), thistles and nettles in the verges and various flowers, all of which he sampled.
 
I have never seen a horse who would willingly eat ragwort .
Even the smallest amount damages the liver .
You will have to be very very careful about were you turn him out .
 
I knew of one that got a taste for it. Owner realised when she caught the horse tucking into a barrow load of ragwort she was pulling. The horse was pts for other reasons but the hunt commented on the amount of damage to her liver.
 
Having seen the damage it can do I would be very wary :o

I heard once that at certain times of year it can taste sweet to some horses as it is supposed to be quite bitter...
 
i caught my mare eating some from the path on the way to her field (which has no ragwort) , i couldn't pull it out in time and she swallowed it so now i have to watch her for that as she is quite partial to a snide scooby snack given half a chance and she eats all sorts of leaves and plants including ferns this morning. i'm not sure why she does it and worry she will poison herself
 
As soon as I see a ragwort rosette I dig it out as it damages the liver,
seen one horse die through ragwort poisoning not pretty never let them eat it if you can try digging up better safe then sorry
 
Some are said to develop a taste for it. And it is patatable when dry - which is why you have to watch out for it in hay. Possibly the very hot weather dried it out a bit so it wasn't as bitter.

Its a build up poison so each time they take a mouthful it sticks in the liver and cannot be excreted. Eventually they reach a toxic dose. There is no cure. I have seen herbal supplements which claim to support the liver - but my understand is that nothing removes ragwort toxin. It is a death sentence to most livestock - it just depends on what that fatal loading is reached.
 
There is a paddock I pass occasionally that is full of ragwort and a solitary miserable looking horse in it. This paddock always used to be well cared for so dont know whats happened. Dont think that there is any point reporting it anywhere though as a recent post there doesnt seem to be any joined up legislation etc . The road verges and roundabouts locally are choc full of it, so demoralising as you know you will be foreever clearing it from your fields.
 
It is illegal to graze stock in a ragwort infested field (animal welfare legislation) but I am only aware of one successful prosecution in England -- of owners from the mobile section of society.

My ponies will occasionallt eat bracken -- and will nibble on all sorts of things, lile larch and scots pine. I don't suppose a little causes much harm. Maybe they are experimenting? Or just in search of the exotic?
 
OliviaBlogger said:
If he eats ragwort with pleasure, then I guess there will be nothing bad.
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By logic, there's nothing bad in Anti-Freeze, as cats seem pretty willing to lap that up...

My point being, Animals don't always know that what they're eating is or isn't toxic/deadly. They just think it tastes good.
 
OliviaBlogger said:
If he eats ragwort with pleasure, then I guess there will be nothing bad.
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Wake up ,Ragwort is one of the the most toxic plants in this country any amount causes damage to the liver .
The damage is permanent and by the time the liver reaches the point where it's two impaired to function theres nothing you can do about it .
 
Dry Rot said:
It is illegal to graze stock in a ragwort infested field (animal welfare legislation) but I am only aware of one successful prosecution in England -- of owners from the mobile section of society.

My ponies will occasionallt eat bracken -- and will nibble on all sorts of things, lile larch and scots pine. I don't suppose a little causes much harm. Maybe they are experimenting? Or just in search of the exotic?
Click to expand...

I was a witness when a welfare officer in the case of a horse owner who was banned when their horse was found to have a severely impaired liver the horse was grazed in a ragwort infested paddock for years .
Definitely no love of caravans involved .
 
Smogul said:
I have always been told horses only eat ragwort when there is nothing else available or it is dried and mixed in with forage. At the weekend, grazing my pony in hand, I realised he was tucking enthusiastically into some ragwort. I removed him from this temptation immediately but I would be interested to hear if anyone else had seen this. The field I was grazing him in had great grass (normally used for dairy cattle but cleared for our event), thistles and nettles in the verges and various flowers, all of which he sampled.
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why on earth would you graze with ragwort in your horse without an attempt to remove it
 
TYSSANDI said:
why on earth would you graze with ragwort in your horse without an attempt to remove it
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Not sure what you mean by this - remove the horse or the ragwort? I said I removed the horse as soon as I noticed what he was up to. I hadn't noticed that there was ragwort in the field.
 
Hia guys my horse got into a neighbour's field and ate hay that contained ragwort and I am really worried. The vet claims there's not much he can do, any advice?
 
Liver tonic/liver aid

I've only known two horses who would enthusiastically eat Ragwort if given the chance. Both died of liver failure, one aged 7 and one ages 13. In both cases, they had no access to Ragwort on my land. Each horse was 2yrs when it moved onto my land and both came from poor backgrounds. The vet reckoned by the time they moved in, the damage was already done. They possibly ate other plants/toxins that put the liver under pressure, and as said both were observed to enjoy Ragwort plants e.g. grabbing one on a hack. Never observed that in another horse.
 
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Not sure why this thread suddenly resurfaced? Pony in question is still alive and well. I have never seen him try to eat ragwort since.
 
Have done he claims there isn't much he can do besides wait and to feed him vitamin supplements to support his liver
 
There isn't anything you can do. Once eaten its eaten. There is no antidote. Its a cumulative toxin so you don;t have to look at him right now and think he'll drop dead any minute. But you do need to be very careful of his liver and that he doesn't get hold of ragwort again. You can get herbal supplements to boost liver function - most contain milk thistle.

ETA - Glad the origional pony is well!
 
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Thanks for the advice it's greatly appreciated 😊 I've got my fingers crossed that he didn't eat too much.
 
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