Ragwort Stupidity

R

Roody2

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 January 2009
Messages
685
Visit site
I was driving through a neighbouring town earlier when I saw a horse in a paddock that was literally half full of ragwort. I'm not talking the odd plant or two, but one half of the field was so covered, all you could see was yellow!!!

Stupid thing is, the horse was wearing full fly rug and mask and boots so someone obviously cares about it enought to protect it from flies, but not the poison plant.

Is there anything I can do - report it to anyone or anything?

I don't know who owns the field or the horse or I would be going straight to them.
 
personally I'm the sort of person who would write a polite note , pehaps with info attached about what ragwort can do. Laminate it or put in clear plastic bag and tie to the gate where they have to see it.

I have done this before when I saw ponies with no grass or hayladge left a note next day loads of hayladge amazing
 
Leaving a note seems like a good idea to me. We are all getting very annoyed as the fields next to ours are full of it and the owners wont do anything about it! so all the seeds are blowing into ours which are ragworted regularly
 
i know exactly how you fill i passed two large fields today with roughtly about 3 ponies on it ,and i have not seen so much ragwort in my time ,both fields where covered i couldnt see no grass there where more fields at the back but couldnt really see them
 
A poloite note is a good idea as a lot of poeple don't even know ragwort can kill a horse
 
I'd write a note explaining that its extremely dangerous and how to remove it, and then I'd wait a week, and then I'd report it. xxxx
 
I hate it when I see fields like that, I know its a pain in the arse but its gotta be done, the horrid thing has just started to pop up in the field I keep my boy in, looks like i'm going to be busy...woohoo
 
Fair point many owners are oblivious to the dangers and the fact how easily ragwort spreads. I am also alarmed at how many local councils allow Ragwort to grow unchecked - it is very annoying
 
In my experience Ragwort is not a problem to the horse whilst it is growing, the danger comes when it is either cut and dried and made with the hay/haylage or is cut down/dies and then the horse eats it.
Most cases of ragwort poisoning comes from horses eating it in the hay/haylage.
It must not be very tasty when its growing, I have to root up about a dozen plants or more a year in my fields, this year I can see about six plants that need pulling up and although the field is pretty bare for grazing (fat horses) they don't touch it!!
 
make sure any notice doesnt panic them into having the field topped and then the poor horses eating the much more dangerous dried/wilted stuff.

I def think that since they might be unaware the notice is a good idea. If theres that much it will take a wee while to clear so they have to have the chance to do it. Also defra will require that the landowner is given that chance (Having had to report our local equestrian college at my old place !!!! I know the process well...)

I would give them about 2-3 weeks after the notice is up. In the meantime you can research the ownership of the land. The reporting forms can be downloaded from the government defra website.
 
Ragwort poisoning through grazing is extremely rare. The plant has such a bitter taste that horses (and other livestock) very rarely eat it unless they are absolutely desperately hungry. The danger from ragwort poisoning comes from fields that are harvested for the hay. Once dried, ragwort becomes palatable and that is when ragwort poisoning occurs.
The field that I keep my horses in has quite a lot of ragwort growing in it and I have watched them grazing and they don't go anywhere near it. Saying that, I do pull it up because it makes me feel better knowing that it's not in there! :rolleyes:
I was out hacking on my boy last year and he snatched at a ragwort plant in the hedgerow as we passed it. He knew immediately what he had done and spat it out. I jumped off him, pulled his bridle off and was frantically trying to clean his mouth and tongue of all the petals off the flower, much to the bemusement of passers by in their cars!
Don't think they had seen many horses with their owners' hand half way down their throats! :D
Had to ride him home with no bit as the petals were plastered all over it. Good job he's such a good boy! :)
 
Ragwort growing is not palatable BUT horses grazing around it will nibble accidentally at the edges of the plants in the process. Because the effect is cumulative, this can be fatal over time - especially if the horse has already eaten ragwort in hay, and it is often impossible to know whether or not this has happened, as many people don't own their horses for the whole of the horse's life. It is NEVER safe to have horses around ragwort, and it must be removed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top