Please tell me I'm being daft!!

[cavalier123]

My ponies are on a track about 3 metres wide around their field. My neighbours have a track about 5 Metres wide running along the side of my track, fence in between. My neighbours were spraying weeds along their track this evening, which I am really glad about as it hasn't been maintained before and is full of weeds, anyway i am worried because when I checked in on my camera my ponies were stood right next to them, obviously curious, but I'm really worried about the drift if there was any? It wasnt very windy and in theory I guess it should be fine. I've been down and checked them and they seem fine and I have shut off half of their track so they cant go along that side. Still worried though, should I keep it shut off for 2 weeks just in case will be a pain re space, but if I need to then i will. Or, am i just being daft??!
Sorry, that turned out longer then expected.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I suppose it depends on what they used, if your horses can reach to graze a bit on the neighbour's side of the fence, and if some of it did end up on your side of the fence.

If they used for example Roundup, then I've read that Monsanto recommend horses be kept off it for 3 to 5 days (however, how much one should trust what Monsanto recommends, is perhaps also worth to take into account).
If they used vinegar, I've read it can be safe as soon as the plants aren't damp anymore, so if the next days are sunny, it might soon be safe again.
But for some other products I've read recommendations on everything from 1 week, to 6 - 8 weeks.

Presuming your neighbour also have horses, one would like to think that they used something safe for horses, but in your shoes I would presume that they've only thought about killing the weeds, ask them what they used, and then google to see for yourself what the recommendations are for that specific product.

 

[cavalier123]

Thanks for your reply. They used grazon which is not safe, horses need to be kept off for two weeks. I guess I just have to bite the bullet and move all my fencing (only put it up last week), but as you say if some of it did end up on my side then I just can't take the risk.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

How annoying for you with the extra hassle, especially since you where just finished with it. Poor you, but better safe than sorry.
Trying to think positive, 2 weeks is a lot better than 6 - 8 weeks, and hopefully it leads to less weeds that could spread to your field.

 

[cavalier123]

Thanks you are right I know I was just thinking it's really because I'm not well and get stressed easily but it's not a big deal really - I can do it. Probably would have been better had I have gone to bed earlier.... never mind. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Marigold4]

Not being daft at all. I would worry about that too. Hope the fence move doesn't take too long.

 

[MissTyc]

Can you cut off that section of track for a few weeks rather than move all the fencing?
We never spray within 2m of external boundaries, except I sometimes send the kids out with a handheld spray bottle to individually kill off broad leaves that I don't have the energy to pull up.

 

[Winters100]

Sorry but I also don't think that you are daft to be concerned. I would secure the area for now and also ask your neighbors if they could be kind enough to give you advance warning next time - my big worry would be that they repeat the treatment at a time when you do not see.

 

[cavalier123]

Not being daft at all. I would worry about that too. Hope the fence move doesn't take too long.

Thanks for your reply. Probably take an couple of hours at least as need to completely rearrange it all ?

 

[cavalier123]

Can you cut off that section of track for a few weeks rather than move all the fencing?
We never spray within 2m of external boundaries, except I sometimes send the kids out with a handheld spray bottle to individually kill off broad leaves that I don't have the energy to pull up.

Is that a thing that you shouldn't spray within 2 metres of s boundary?
I cut that bit of last night but they've not got enough space now and it's got internal paddocks with gates from that side so will all need rearranging somehow.

 

[cavalier123]

Sorry but I also don't think that you are daft to be concerned. I would secure the area for now and also ask your neighbors if they could be kind enough to give you advance warning next time - my big worry would be that they repeat the treatment at a time when you do not see.

Yes I fenced them off it last night and going to rearrange things today so they can stay off it for 2 weeks. She did let me know the first time and so I was really surprised to see them doing it last night. I have asked her to please let me know when she wants to finish off, she stopped at night when I called, and I've asked her to let me know when she wants to finish it, but I am worried two that she just carry on when I'm not around. It's hard to manage because my past experience is that it doesn't matter how reasonable I am or I'd then other person is in the wrong, i will e the bad one once I've spoken up, no matter how polite I am. I really cant afford to fall out with them, but I guess that's the way it will go because I have to protect my ponies

 

[southerncomfort]

Thats pretty inconsiderate of them.

I really wanted to spray the buttercups in my winter field this year but but I was worried about the ewes and lambs in the neighbouring field and decided against.

 

[lamlyn2012]

I would ask them to use a piece of board if they do any more spraying to stop the spray drift contaminating your grazing. They should have really let you know. It's surprising how far spraying can unintentionaly spread.

 

[Charliew00]

I've never heard of vinegar being used to kill weeds. Is it safe and effective? I have a big problem in my arena.

 

[cavalier123]

Thats pretty inconsiderate of them.

I really wanted to spray the buttercups in my winter field this year but but I was worried about the ewes and lambs in the neighbouring field and decided against.

It is isn't it, I know I wouldn't do it. I'm so upset, they have bought the land recently, it has been empty for years and has been my haven. I'm just so upset that this has happened, I thought they were being considerate and it would all be ok, feels like it wont now. I've just sent a lovely text, thanking her for maintaining field and politely asking her to let me know in future and into a thumbs up. Feels like I'm not being taken seriously ?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

This is frustrating to read, and I'm not even the one who needs to fix the fencing, and worry over what the neighbours will do next. And to top it off, you're not well.
But as you said, it is just about biting the bullet, and get it over with. I hope that you at least can figure out a way to rearrange it, so that you 2 weeks from now can just open up the closed off area? But I won't be surprised if the answer is "No, I'll have to do this whole castling thing with the fence again after 2 weeks".

 

[MissTyc]

Is that a thing that you shouldn't spray within 2 metres of s boundary?
I cut that bit of last night but they've not got enough space now and it's got internal paddocks with gates from that side so will all need rearranging somehow.

Not a rule per se, but definitely good practice. Only spray when there is no wind at all + avoid boundary fences. I noticed some dying Ragwort along the boundary in my winter field last week. I was going up to pull it from the boundary, but clearly our farmer neighbour must have been spraying recently with some chemical drift as it definitely caught our land. No problem in our case as no livestock on the land, but shows that it's a common problem I'm afraid.

The good news is that grazeon is fairly safe in the grand scheme of chemicals. Definitely remove them for 2 weeks if you can, but don't overthink that they've been exposed a bit.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Thats pretty inconsiderate of them.

I really wanted to spray the buttercups in my winter field this year but but I was worried about the ewes and lambs in the neighbouring field and decided against.

If your fencing allows it, perhaps you could ask to borrow some of the sheep, and let them graze your field. I read on a HHO sheep thread only some days ago, that someone didn't have any buttercups in her field after rotating between letting horses, and sheep graze the same field (there was other benefits involved with doing it as well, but the field still also needed some rest).

 

[Errin Paddywack]

My sister uses Grazon Pro with a knapsack sprayer on our fields to attempt to control thistles. She is qualified to do this. This is the instruction she follows: "Keep livestock out of treated areas for at least 7 days and until foliage of any poisonous weeds such as ragwort has died and become unpalatable." We don't have ragwort so no problem there. We use it with stock in the field. We have been using it for many years now and never had any problem at all with our animals.
Recently she tried roundup on the nettles and I have seen my rams happily chomping on the dry, dead nettles. They don't do that with nettles killed by Grazon.

Just found this:

Is Grazon safe for horses?
I experienced absolutely no problems due to the application of grazon. We have applied it with horses grazing in the pasture, pregnant mares, and breeding stallions, and no problems. However, again, the best scenario FOR THE GRASS is to pull the horses off of the pasture.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I've never heard of vinegar being used to kill weeds. Is it safe and effective? I have a big problem in my arena.

Since you can use normal household vinegar to make your own DIY Vinegar weed spray, it makes some people think it is a harmless natural product that you can use as much of as you feel like. But just as with everything else, including drinking water, it can become dangerous if you use too much, too often.
Of course the best thing for the environment is to not use weed killers, but if you have to use one, it seems to me as if Vinegar based weed sprays is less dangerous for wildlife, and pets.

Vinegar weed spray should only be used on sunny days, and preferably when there is no rain in the forecast for the following few days (it easily dilutes and/or washes away in rain). It usually works within a few hours, but if it is cloudy, it can sometimes take a few days.
It works by "burning" whatever foliage it comes in contact with.

I don't know how effective it is to use in an arena, it depends on what unwanted stuff that is growing there. In general, it works best on non perennial weeds. I rarely use weed killers, but I've used Vinegar weed spray on places like for example gravel on a gravesite with really good result, however with stuff like the Ground elder in my garden, you still have to dig up the roots. On the other hand, in the right environment (which my city garden seems to be) Ground elder behaves as if it's a relative to cockroaches, even RoundUp only causes a brief, temporary damage to it. And I still had to dig up the roots. (There is a large field nobody takes care of nearby, which keeps spreading Ground elder seeds into my city garden, and I also have a small summer home garden to try and look after, so I'm afraid the Ground elder is winning in my city garden.)

If we instead where talking about using Vinegar weed spray in a field, since in theory it often kills the weed within a few hours, I've read that some says that equals when the field is safe for horses to graze again, but note that wilting can make some weeds more palatable to horses, so if you do use it in a field, and can't remove the dead plants by maybe raking them up, it is probably still best to not let horses graze there until some days, maybe a week have passed.

Also note that the Vinegar weed sprays you can buy in stores are stronger than the DIY version, which means they should be handled more carefully.

 

[cavalier123]

I would ask them to use a piece of board if they do any more spraying to stop the spray drift contaminating your grazing. They should have really let you know. It's surprising how far spraying can unintentionaly spread.

That's a good idea, I didn't think of that. I don't know why they didn't tell me, they did the first time and we agreed I would keep the ponies at the back of the field so they could spray front and then when they wanted to do back, I would move to front, I guess it just didn't suit them to let me know, absolutely no idea why, other than maybe they just wanted to do it straight away and didnt want to wait for me to move them, which I could have done straight away. ?

 

[cavalier123]

This is frustrating to read, and I'm not even the one who needs to fix the fencing, and worry over what the neighbours will do next. And to top it off, you're not well.
But as you said, it is just about biting the bullet, and get it over with. I hope that you at least can figure out a way to rearrange it, so that you 2 weeks from now can just open up the closed off area? But I won't be surprised if the answer is "No, I'll have to do this whole castling thing with the fence again after 2 weeks".

Thanks, I've managed to do it without too much work, I've had to create extra gates onto the internal paddocks on opposite side which I didn't really want to do but it was easiest option. I'm just on alert now though, checking on them regularly with camera when not there. Worried for their safety now. Maybe a bit of an overreaction...

 

[cavalier123]

Not a rule per se, but definitely good practice. Only spray when there is no wind at all + avoid boundary fences. I noticed some dying Ragwort along the boundary in my winter field last week. I was going up to pull it from the boundary, but clearly our farmer neighbour must have been spraying recently with some chemical drift as it definitely caught our land. No problem in our case as no livestock on the land, but shows that it's a common problem I'm afraid.

The good news is that grazeon is fairly safe in the grand scheme of chemicals. Definitely remove them for 2 weeks if you can, but don't overthink that they've been exposed a bit.

Thanks for confirming that.

Have fenced off that area and feeling a bit more reassured for your reply.

 

[cavalier123]

My sister uses Grazon Pro with a knapsack sprayer on our fields to attempt to control thistles. She is qualified to do this. This is the instruction she follows: "Keep livestock out of treated areas for at least 7 days and until foliage of any poisonous weeds such as ragwort has died and become unpalatable." We don't have ragwort so no problem there. We use it with stock in the field. We have been using it for many years now and never had any problem at all with our animals.
Recently she tried roundup on the nettles and I have seen my rams happily chomping on the dry, dead nettles. They don't do that with nettles killed by Grazon.

Just found this:

Is Grazon safe for horses?
I experienced absolutely no problems due to the application of grazon. We have applied it with horses grazing in the pasture, pregnant mares, and breeding stallions, and no problems. However, again, the best scenario FOR THE GRASS is to pull the horses off of the pasture.

Wow that's interesting I've used it before and was sure the instructions said keep off for 2 weeks. Maybe the neighbour sprayed so close because she'd also read that it's ok. Problem was she wasnt up for a discussion so I've no idea. It's very reassuring though, thank you!

 

[GoldenWillow]

We've used Grazon Pro and only had to keep off for 7 days unless spraying ragwort.