shetland eaten ragwort what do i do?

pastie2 said:
One mouthfull means nothing, over a period of time eating the stuff it builds up toxins in the liver eventually causing liver failure. I agree with brighteyes, why wait so late to pull it up. Why do your paddocks have it in the first place?
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This is a bit unfair. I'm digging out ragwort rosettes currently as the rain has meant it has started to grow again. It's a constant chore most of us undertake & better to get it out now than leave it till spring.

My TB ate a clump as I was untacking him after a long day's hunting. That was 4 years ago & he's fine. It depends how much they've consumed before &how much they go on to eat in the future.
 
Please get the shetland off the lush grazing before doing anything! You will get a far more immediate vet bill from that than the small amount of *possible* ragwort she ate.

To be honest if the pony has a liking for the bitter taste then that is highly unusual and worrying for her long term future.

I echo what others have said, are you absolutely sure it was ragwort she was eating? At this time of year we get quite a lot of a plant called Fleabane popping up. The flowers are identical to Ragwort but if you look at the leaves they are different. The leaves have a pungent smell when rubbed (hence it was used to ward off fleas in times past). It always gives me a heart attack when I see some!
 
I can't believe how rude some of you are being infact some of the replies go beyond rude.

If it was Ragwort and if the pony did eat some and it's the only ragwort it has ever eaten it will not kill it, the liver is a large organ and the effects are cumalitive.

The majority of fields have ragwort and the seedlings are so small the majority of horses have eaten ragwort at some point.

You're vet shouldn't charge for advice or you could contact Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool University who has done a lot of research on Ragwort, he's a really approachable guy and gets back to you very quickly.

Global herbs also do a product I think it's called Ragaid which you can use if you think it's necessary.
 
springer1021 said:
I can't believe how rude some of you are being infact some of the replies go beyond rude.

If it was Ragwort and if the pony did eat some and it's the only ragwort it has ever eaten it will not kill it, the liver is a large organ and the effects are cumalitive.

The majority of fields have ragwort and the seedlings are so small the majority of horses have eaten ragwort at some point.

You're vet shouldn't charge for advice or you could contact Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool University who has done a lot of research on Ragwort, he's a really approachable guy and gets back to you very quickly.

Global herbs also do a product I think it's called Ragaid which you can use if you think it's necessary.
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Also agree with this, most horses have eaten a bit over their lifetime, either in hay or as seedlings, don't panic too much!
 
I would ring the vet and have a chat with them ASAP .I have also seen the damage ragwort can do and its not a nice way to die!!! I lost a pony with ragwort poisoning in the early 80s.RIP Cindy.
I would get the ragwort up as soon as it pokes up thru the ground.Digging it up is best!!!!!
Keep your eye on the shettie!!!
 
brighteyes said:
The vet will probably not charge you for advice, so it's perfectly safe to call him. Unless the pony/ies have developed a liking for ragwort or the ragwort you had in the bucket was somehow 'dried', my money is on it not being ragwort or the pony was nibbling whatever else was pulled along with the 'suspect' plants. As for putting a Shettie on rich grass to flush its system...that simply doesn't make sense on any level!

I am really not bothered what anyone else thinks - if 'one' cannot call the vet for financial reasons, 'one' shouldn't have animals, and that includes ponies. First thing to do ought to have been call the vet for advice. And leave your ponies in the care of someone who knows what they are doing? I think the OP is slightly more responsible than her mother in this instance for thinking to pull the 'ragwort' in the first place.
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Totally agree.
 
legaldancer said:
This is a bit unfair. I'm digging out ragwort rosettes currently as the rain has meant it has started to grow again. It's a constant chore most of us undertake & better to get it out now than leave it till spring.
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Ditto this- I do mine everyday as I poo-pick- but the bloody stuff springs up from no-where.

At least OP is picking it.......:confused:
 
OP: Don't panic. It won't kill him within hours as some would have you believe. Keep an eye on him and if there's any doubts call your mum and ask her to call the vet. Just take him off the lush grass for now ;)

I've had ragwort before, and it's an endless task, pulling up daily, the stuff just grows and grows. If it were me and one of mine ate some, I'd not be having the vet out on an emergency, I'd maybe call for advice, but would go with common sense that it's a teeny amount, there's often ragwort in hay and to just keep an eye on him.

Least you were pulling it up, that shows responsibility to me.

Please don't be put off posting by a few pre menopausal holier than thous. We're not all rolling in money and fault less horse owners. Some of us are normal ;)
 
there is not much u can do if he has already ingested it. only 1 oz is enough to do permanent damage and that isnt in one go but through their life time. get some milk thistle and dandilion root that helps the liver which is the organ affected

hope the little fella is ok
 
Bloody hell some people are unbelievable! We have ragwort growing in our fields. We sprayed last year but as alot of our fields have big dips (and are on a hill to start with) about 40% of the field is impossible to spray unless by hand - and that is prohibitively expensive.

So, WE PICK IT! And dispose of it appropriately. Our horses are loved and cared for and we do it every day during the high season and once a week at all other times.

Some people are so self-righteous! Not all of us can have perfect fields - what makes the perfect owners is removing the dangers.
 
I would agree, don't panic.

However, don't assume that just because he ate it, it isn't ragwort. I have been hand walking Worm every day recently (box rest) and she will literally drag me toward a dock or a buttercup or piece of ragwort on the verge. It takes all my heaving to stop her eating it! Luckily, we have none in our fields.
 
flamehead said:
Bloody hell some people are unbelievable! We have ragwort growing in our fields. We sprayed last year but as alot of our fields have big dips (and are on a hill to start with) about 40% of the field is impossible to spray unless by hand - and that is prohibitively expensive.

So, WE PICK IT! And dispose of it appropriately. Our horses are loved and cared for and we do it every day during the high season and once a week at all other times.

Some people are so self-righteous! Not all of us can have perfect fields - what makes the perfect owners is removing the dangers.
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I have to agree here, I walk my fields daily to check for ragwort coming through, very easy to spot where my horses are now because the grazing is short but on our winter paddocks which I walk daily too, the grazing being much longer it is typically harder to spot rosettes as they first sprout until sometimes they are a few inches poking through the greenery. I am religious about ragwort but in one week still found twelve tiny seedlings growing in my winter pasture. It can be remnant seeds, seeds blowing in from previous year etc. Given that my husband sprayed our Winter pasture last year, we are still finding some as this Summer has progressed.
 
i just want to say thank you to for so many people replying and your guidance.
just to let you know how it's going.

i kept a VERY careful eye on him for the first 48 hours and am still monitoring him closely. there have been absolutely no signs of anything and i have been thorough. i called the vet and she said there was nothing that could be done really once it has been ingested, but we can have a blood test to check out what's going on. he is on clearout and Rag-aid from global herbs and milkthistle to help his liver out. and immuplus for his immune system.

as for all the comments on being irresponsible and shouldn't own horses just to let you know the situation. we have a small holding that is not allowed to be sprayed or anything drastic on the land, it was left for many years with ragwort left rampant before we bought it (a fact we didn't know before buying it) so for the past couple of years we have spent an unbelievable amount of time digging the ragwort. i lost count after the first 10,000 plants dug and burned. so i first dig the the field that the horses spend the summer on then the other fields are dug for ragwort. if i don't have a rag-fork with me when i'm walking the other fields i just pull them to make sure they don't get a chance to seed so what i was digging was what had come up again from the roots left in. it's not ideal but i never let them go to seed i do my best and already spend so much time digging ragwort that i hardly have any time left to enjoy the animals.

as for not calling the vet straight away i am very ashamed of that. just that i had no money of my own at the time and i wasn't sure if the vet could do anything anyway which was why i asked this question in the fist place. i was reluctant to call out the vet as i have called out the vet unnecessarily before, panicking over a small issue before and gotten charged a fortune for stuff that didn't need to be done. the problems received from my dad for this were huge and got us wound up in huge problems. so without the say so of my mum i couldn't take on the hastle alone especially if there was nothing that could be done. if there was an issue that i KNEW a vet could do something about i wouldn't hesitate to call out the vet though.

putting him on the lush grass was stupid but in my panic i thought a couple of hours of it might at least dilute it and make his system rush out that batch of food, flawed reasoning i realize now but the only thing that popped into my head in my panic. it was only for a very short time though.

part of my stupidity in how i acted was because i am feeling really i'll at the moment and mostly because i am very imperfect, but i am doing my best, i have learned many valuable lessons from this and am now saving up for emergencies for the horses so I can get it sorted by myself in the right way in the future. and many more lessons learned too.

Thank you again for your replies.
 
Seriously, what a load of b*llocks some people talk. Never ceases to amaze me the amount of so called experts that pile out such rubbish.

Well done OP, glad your sheltand seems fine.
 
Don't waste your money on blood tests - once the ragwort poisoning is evident from symptoms it is too late. I can't say if liver supporting herbs or powders have any benefit, but I reckon they can't do much harm, so if you feel you should give them and can afford to, fair enough.

I'm still pretty confident that if the grass is plentiful enough, the ponies won't have bothered with the ragwort, and if you have been as vigilant as you say, the likelihood is even smaller. And I'll say again, unless the stuff in the bucket was dried, it will have likely been too unpalatable to eat - unless the pony was starved into eating it on a regular basis.

You sound a lot more 'able' and knowledgeable than you did in your first post - which to be fair, is all we had to go on. I hope you are feeling better and remember, if you call the vet for advice, just check they won't be charging you if it is a worry. I don't think I know of a vet that does.

If I had more ragwort than was sensible or reasonable to hand-pick, I don't care who says what about my land - I'd be spraying it! Give yourself a break. I take it you wear gloves to pull it? It's nasty stuff.
 
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