Serenity087
Well-Known Member
Ragwort.
Just why?
Our neighbours seem to be the biggest ignoramouses ever, turning out a collecting of ponies on what can only be described as a mat of ragwort (I went over there to move a dead deer and I'll tell you, the half rotten maggot eaten carcass of a deer didn't make me feel half as sick as realising the ponies had nothing to eat but ragwort!!!!!)
But today I saw a new winner, a mare with her newborn foal in a field of 2 metre high plants.
Way to condemn that foal to death the day it's born, you idiots!
Whatever they think on the continent, Ragwort is poisonous to horses, livestock and humans. In fact, the only thing that can ingest ragwort and not die is the caterpillar of the cinnebar moth!!!
My old mare was poisoned after being neglected and when I got her she was, no other way to put it, depressed. She coliced one night and was lying in the field with her eyes shut waiting to cross to the other side. It wasn't even a serious colic, she just saw it as the way out!!!
It took MONTHS of hard work just to SAVE her. It took medication every day until the day she died to keep her alive. (she died of stragulated lipoma, so nothing rag related!)
Why do people gamble their horses lives with this horrific weed? Do you know what it does? It starts with liver failure. The buildup of toxins in the bloodstream then cause the kidneys (the usual filter of the blood) to fail. Once the kidneys have failed, the toxins move around the rest of the body, the heart, the brain, you name it, it begins to rot.
More often than not you don't see anything wrong until the brain is poisoned. Then they can get sleepy, or behave oddly.
After that, when they start showing signs of liver damage, they're gone. It has been known for horses to bleed to death between the two stages also.
Ragwort doesn't have to be a killer. I've kept a mare with serious ragwort damage alive for years without any problems. It takes effort.
Or better yet, it takes not exposing horses to it in the first place.
Please, I beg you all, for the sake of your horses, go out this weekend with your wheelbarrows, a ragfork and some marigold gloves and dig up every single plant you find.
You don't ever want to hear a vet tell "I'm sorry, your horse is dying" - trust me. So just DO IT! GO RAGWORTING! I DON'T CARE WHAT'S ON THE TELLY! DIG AND BURN THIS WEED AND SAVE A HORSE NOW!!!!!
Just why?
Our neighbours seem to be the biggest ignoramouses ever, turning out a collecting of ponies on what can only be described as a mat of ragwort (I went over there to move a dead deer and I'll tell you, the half rotten maggot eaten carcass of a deer didn't make me feel half as sick as realising the ponies had nothing to eat but ragwort!!!!!)
But today I saw a new winner, a mare with her newborn foal in a field of 2 metre high plants.
Way to condemn that foal to death the day it's born, you idiots!
Whatever they think on the continent, Ragwort is poisonous to horses, livestock and humans. In fact, the only thing that can ingest ragwort and not die is the caterpillar of the cinnebar moth!!!
My old mare was poisoned after being neglected and when I got her she was, no other way to put it, depressed. She coliced one night and was lying in the field with her eyes shut waiting to cross to the other side. It wasn't even a serious colic, she just saw it as the way out!!!
It took MONTHS of hard work just to SAVE her. It took medication every day until the day she died to keep her alive. (she died of stragulated lipoma, so nothing rag related!)
Why do people gamble their horses lives with this horrific weed? Do you know what it does? It starts with liver failure. The buildup of toxins in the bloodstream then cause the kidneys (the usual filter of the blood) to fail. Once the kidneys have failed, the toxins move around the rest of the body, the heart, the brain, you name it, it begins to rot.
More often than not you don't see anything wrong until the brain is poisoned. Then they can get sleepy, or behave oddly.
After that, when they start showing signs of liver damage, they're gone. It has been known for horses to bleed to death between the two stages also.
Ragwort doesn't have to be a killer. I've kept a mare with serious ragwort damage alive for years without any problems. It takes effort.
Or better yet, it takes not exposing horses to it in the first place.
Please, I beg you all, for the sake of your horses, go out this weekend with your wheelbarrows, a ragfork and some marigold gloves and dig up every single plant you find.
You don't ever want to hear a vet tell "I'm sorry, your horse is dying" - trust me. So just DO IT! GO RAGWORTING! I DON'T CARE WHAT'S ON THE TELLY! DIG AND BURN THIS WEED AND SAVE A HORSE NOW!!!!!
and dont read any of the horse mags and dont belong to any clubs ( well only the agility one)...... is there still information out and about thats easily accessible. When I was young ( a long time ago 
there always seemed to be awareness of it.
Such a good feeling to know it's clear at the end of the day. Only to find a piece I've missed! 