Horse in field with LOADS of ragwort...??

[Hels_Bells]

Went for a nice Sunday afternoon walk today and passed a field which had more ragwort than I've ever seen with a horse grazing in it. I would say a good 10% of the field was clumps of ragwort. I was always taught having any ragwort in a horse's field was an absolute no-no and I check for it frequently and remove if i find any in my fields. Was pretty horrified!!

Should i notify ILPH or something or just mind my own business!!?? Horse was slightly on the skinny side (which I believe makes the risk of them eating it higher?) but didn't look in particularly bad condition otherwise.

 

[Donkeymad]

The official route is to inform DEFRA, not that they will do anything. I would suggest informing WHW who can come and advise the owner.

 

[kerilli]

was there lots of grass too? if there is plenty of grass, i wouldn't worry too much... horses won't eat growing ragwort IF there is plenty of tasty grass around. if not, if it is literally a horse in a sea of ragwort with no grass, i would contact charities. tell them you couldn't see any water in with the horse and they'll get there faster, hopefully...

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Listen up guys: MOST horses won't eat growing ragwort but SOME horses WILL, depending on a variety of other circumstances. If anyone wants some pix of a rescued horse, with foal at foot, both starving and showing the terrible results of extensive and permanent ragwort damage to the liver, let me know. Putting any horse in a field riddled with ragwort is a gamble I would never, ever be prepared to take.

 

[kerilli]

agreed, ragwort poisoning is awful, BUT if there is a plentiful supply of good grass or hay, i don't think horses will eat growing ragwort. (i've been leaving the few plants i have until they nearly seed, in the hope of eradicating them. only 1 was touched, and then spat out, whole and unchewed, close by.)

 

[glitterfuzz]

seeing as the horse was still alive with that amount of ragwort in its field, it probably doesnt eat it - as most wont - I should imagine reporting it will not do any good. If a horse has something to eat and water and looks healthy you have no chance of getting a result. Horses have to eat a lot of ragwort over a long period of time to get liver damage.

You could try reporting the land owner to the council as you get fined for "growing" ragowrt - allthough local authorities must owe themselves a lot of money with the amount they grow at the side of the road!!!!

 

[Donkeymad]

As BoF said, SOME horses WILL eat ragwort, regardless of how much grass there is. It is not a risk worth taking.

 

[hellybelly6]

Horses will accidentally eat ragwort seedlings.

Contact BHS or WHW and see what they advise.

Dont ever think horses wont eat this evil plant, there is such a thing as accidental ingestion. Bracken also has the same effect on the liver. Ragwort is more palletable after it has flowered and gone brown.

I have seen many times 1st hand the effects of ragwort and it is not something to get blase about.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Sorry K and GF but there are 2 things that need to be stirred into anyone's decision to let horses graze in a field where ragwort is growing vigorously. Firstly, because the damage that ragwort causes is cumulative, every single accidental (or deliberate) mouthful will start to damage the liver. Ragwort damaged livers cannot regenerate. So you only see the damage when approximately 70% of the liver is permanently damaged and at 76% loss of functioning liver, all horses will die. This information straight from Prof Derek Knottenbelt who is a world expert on the subject. There is no blood test for ragwort poisoning so how do you know whether the horse has eaten any of the plant? And secondly, if you just leave it in your field, over a few years you will have ragwort infested fields that look like the field my rescued mare and her dead foal were taken from.

Please, please, never underestimate the horrific permanent damage that ragwort does. 10 years of eating small amounts is as dangerous as once with a larger quantity.

 

[kerilli]

i don't just leave it in my field, i leave it until it is at almost-seeding stage in the hope of weakening the plant so it doesn't come back next year.
last year i dug up every plant i found the moment i saw it. every one regrew from the tiny bits of root left behind, so i am trying a different approach this year, based on info i found on the web.
i hate the stuff, and i report it if i see a horse in a field which looks like a sea of ragwort, fwiw.
BUT i don't think horses ingest it accidentally. given the choice (and it is vitally important that there is a choice) between loads of lovely tasty grass or hay, and the odd bit of growing ragwort, which tastes bitter, i do not think that most horses will touch it.
dried ragwort, or brown dying ragwort, is a different matter, and i won't let horses near it.

 

[willhegofirst]

I know someone with horses in a field with a sea ragwort, they were both born there their Dam was in her thirties when she was put down, they are both in their twenties, she is adament they will not eat it and what can you say when they have reached the age they are without any signs of liver damage.

 

[T_K]

QR - haven't read all replies in full but whether the horse has plenty to eat or not it is an offence to have ragwort on your land and not take action against it - I would contact the local council as well as DEFRA and WHW. In addition to this when it seeds it WILL spread to all neighbouring fields - even maybe yours. When the plant dies it loses it's 'aroma' and there is a possibility a horse will eat it.

Liver disease is a horrible thing to see a horse die from, and if I were you I would do everything possible to protect the horse in the field as well as your own and your neighbours.