Ragwort, true or bollocks ?

Pedantic

Pedantic

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http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-myths.html

Can someone tell me as I aint a lawyer or a botanist a vet or a doctor, BUT I AM BLOODYWELL CONFUSED
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true pretty much, your horse is unlikely to die from eating a small amount of ragwort over the years, if however they are in badly grazed fields and are constantly nibbling dry ragwort they will suffer liver damage. If you've only had you horse a few years and eats ragwort it could be serious as you wouldnt no how much its eatin previous to you owning it and what other strains there are on the liver, making it serious! does that make any sense it's quite early!
 
hi,

not sure about the legal ones but it wouldn't surprise me if what they say there is true.

"A tiny amount of Ragwort will kill a horse or a cow.

FALSE. Research has shown that a very significant amount of Ragwort is required to kill. This can be several stone in weight."

There is actually very little research on the effect ragwort has on horses at different dosages, primarily because about the only way to know a horse has eaten ragwort is to actually watch it do so! (I did some research on ragwort poisoning in horses a few years ago so have read lots of scientific papers on it) I have never seen any research articles saying several stone of ragwort is needed to cause death. I think it is safest to assume it is not safe for horses to eat any ragwort as most people have no idea about previous exposure and the damage done is cumulative.

" Ragwort can poison a horse even when it is not in a field.

FALSE. Ragwort has seeds not spores! "

This is correct.

"Ragwort is dangerous to human beings

FALSE. Ragwort is not a poison of any consequence to humans and the plant and poses no serious risk"

I would be inclined to want to clarify this. Ragwort growing in a field doesn't pose any danger. However the chemicals in ragwort which are toxic to horses are also toxic to humans. If pulling up a lot of ragwort it would be wise to wear gloves so there is no chance the chemicals can be absorbed through the skin.

"The alkaloids in ragwort build up in animals' livers

FALSE."

This is indeed false. But the point is academic, the damage done by the alkaloids does build up which is the main problem.
 
i disagree with some of the stuff on that site. fwiw a friend of mine spent 2 days pulling ragwort without gloves on, she had no idea. she felt SO terrible she went to the doctor (she's a horsey girl, not a hypochondriac, i doubt she goes to the doc more than once a year!) then spoke to me and i asked what she'd been doing... and when she said, i put 2 and 2 together. doc did blood tests etc but was apparently nonplussed. (she went on a course of liver-strengthening herbs.)
so, i wouldn't pull even 1 piece without gloves on.
horses won't usually eat it when it's growing, it tastes very acrid, but if they are absolutely starving (literally nothing else to eat) they will turn to it and get used to the taste.
it's horrible stuff and this website seems to be trying to say it's okay... i think we ought to be trying to eradicate it totally.
btw, i've been told that it is now starting to appear along the sides of autobahns in Germany, where it was never seen before... any bets that seeds were carried there on tyres from vehicles in GB, as it seems that councils here are trying to foster fields of the ******* stuff along every road!
 
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so, i wouldn't pull even 1 piece without gloves on.


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Having had a friend who spent a day pulling ragwart then was physically sick the next day and felt run down for week I feel the same. She didn't suspect the ragwart until weeks after the it happened and we were talking about how it is poisonous and can pentrate the skin, she had no idea and again put 2 and 2 together and is pretty certain she had got the toxins in her body which made her ill
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Agreed with others re the information is partially correct but people can get sick from pulling it without gloves. A small amount won’t kill a horse but gradual build up of toxins will.

I wonder why the author has such a love for the evil yellow weed?
 
I pulled ragwort for about 1 hour last year without gloves and dont remember any ill effects, but then I feel crap most of the time anyway so probably wouldn't have noticed.
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Ragwort very much IS dangerous to humans, we just don't go around eating it. Like the others above, I was quite ill after pulling it for approx 3hrs per day over a period of a week or so. I did wear gloves, but no mask and developed wheezyness, terrible headaches, lethargy and runny nose. I realised why and stopped pulling for a few days - I felt better after 1 day, but it took weeks for my lungs to recover. I later discovered that the pollen was the most dangerous part of the plant, being the most concentrated in alkaloids.

I do wonder, though, whether Ragwort has a place in medicine. Some of the better known Chemo drugs have alkaloid origins.
 
i always pull ragwort with out gloves i know i should,nt! if a horse eats just a little every know again and over years yes it will cause liver damage!
 
Ragwort is a cumalative poison so each time a horse eats ragwort it will kill off some of it's liver cells.

When pulling ragwort you should use industrial grade rubber gloves so that the poison can not enter your system.

The best way to permanently kill ragwort is to spray it with a chemical such as Barrier-H and allow it to completly die before removing it and burning it.

Ragwort is a killer of horses.
 
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