What would make a horse eat Ragwort?

[mystiandsunny]

I've never seen a horse touch the stuff fresh - even when the grass was poor in a starvation paddock, any ragwort would be left to grow until noticed and pulled up. It smells disgusting, stings your skin if you get any juice on it, and must taste as bad as it smells, given how much my lot avoid it.

Anyway - the other day I actually saw a horse eating some, and was rather surprised to say the least. To be fair, there was more ragwort than grass in that field, but there WAS grass in there, and the horse in question wasn't starving - rather round in fact. So - what would make an otherwise healthy horse eat it?

 

[*hic*]

Occasional horses do seem to enjoy the taste, most, as you say, don't, which is why one sees bare fields with abundant flowering ragwort. Even more likely though the horse had found something close to a ragwort plant and was eating that - unless you were within a very few feet and able to see the actual leaves being picked off. Let's hope it was the latter

 

[Biscuit]

I think horses have very different tastes. My first pony loved thistles. I had to cut them down for her, and she would gobble them up. Even huge very chewy ones. None of the other ponies would touch them. She also liked oranges, which I discovered when she pinched one.

 

[BigRed]

I went to a rough livery yard one day and they were feeding haylage. It was absolutely the worst haylage I have ever seen, it was really just weeds with some grass in it. I think that sometimes horses that are poor and hungry (and they were), will be eat any sort of haylage because it tastes and smells better than rough hay. I am sure there would have been ragwort in there.

 

[much-jittering]

I'm with Jemima - never known a horse that had a taste for it (that I know of), but have known cows get a taste for it and deliberately set out to eat it rather than the decent grass available. Obviously didn't do the cow any good.

 

[miss_bird]

I have never seen a horse eating fresh ragwort and like everyone else have seen bare fields full of ragwort and skinny ponies

 

[Amaranta]

Ragwort is very bitter but when wilted is not nearly so much, which is why it is so dangerous in hay. Horses WILL eat fresh ragwort, especially if the leaves around the base of the plant are withered and there is little else in the field. I cannot believe that people don't pull it, if, for instance, some gets broken off and wilts the horses will eat it. It is a notifiable weed and should not be in a field grazed by horses, I would report to local council - having said that it would be interesting to see if they actually did to anything about it

 

[planete]

I had a shetland pony who would eat the ragwort flowers if he could get near them but did not touch the rest of the plant! He was not short of food but obviously had a taste for them. Gave me a shock when I found out as I had never seen a horse eat ragwort before.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

I read somewhere once that horses that have previously been starved and have eaten ragwort in desperation, can develop a taste for it.

 

[muff747]

I know what would make a horse eat ragwort - when it is hidden as small seedling plants in the grass they are eating. This attitude makes me sooo angry
A lot of people seem to think horses come to no harm because they appear to leave the plants alone but when there is a high concentration of plants, they are forced to eat the seedlings, which are just as poisonous. The ragwort spreads over more and more of the land leaving smaller areas of grass, which gets eaten down to bare earth. That leaves room for more ragwort seedlings to grow and flourish.
DON'T BE FOOLED THAT YOUR HORSES ARE COMING TO NO HARM.
You will not know when their liver is getting damaged until it is too late to help them.
Plants do not suddenly go from a seed to a metre high flower, it starts with only two tiny leaves, then four only 1" high so if your grass is 1" high it will be hidden amongst their mouthfuls as they eat. Continual consumption of tiny amounts every day over a period of years is just as bad as one choosing to eat whole plants instead of grass.
Every part of the plant, even flowers and seeds are poisonous so you are forcing them to eat ragwort - that's how horses are made to eat it.
Rant over, please go and pull/dig the plants before they seed and clear up every scrap of leaf you drop.

 

[M_G]

Well said Muff747 there is no excuse other than laziness to see ragwort growing in paddocks

 

[Spook]

Just recently a vet told us that ragwort has some sort of addictive effect on the brain, I do not know if this is correct but can imagine it would be.

As the councils properties (certainly in Aberdeenshire and City Councils cases) are often a disgrace so far as ragwort goes I expect that reporting an infestation to them would be a waste of breath!

 

[Spook]

Just to ask,

Has anyone had any success reporting ragwort? what was the outcome? who did you report it to?

Sorry not meaning to hi-jack the thread, I'll start another if you wish.

 

[Pedantic]

Ragwort is very bitter but when wilted is not nearly so much, which is why it is so dangerous in hay. Horses WILL eat fresh ragwort, especially if the leaves around the base of the plant are withered and there is little else in the field. I cannot believe that people don't pull it, if, for instance, some gets broken off and wilts the horses will eat it. It is a notifiable weed and should not be in a field grazed by horses, I would report to local council - having said that it would be interesting to see if they actually did to anything about it

We have the stuff EVERYKINWHERE

 

[amandap]

As Amaranta says it is very dangerous. I'm especially concerned about it in hay/haylage fields myself. In hay horses wont eat the stems(usually) but they eat the crushed leaves, flowers and seeds when dried.

I had a batch of lovely old meadow hay (stewardship scheme ) in England and I was happily peeling off slices from the ginormous bales to feed when I came across ragwort stems... I was horrified and had the Farmer take the hay back but the next couple of years ragwort appeared in my fields... I know my lot ate seeds at least.
I now believe bought in hay is one way ragwort spreads and never seems to be cleared no matter how hard we try.

 

[Garfield1537]

I spent 4 hours pulling as new field in my yard has! Even though no horses in it yet! The thought of it next to my horsey made me nervous! Agree with all put it out from root and burn it!! Horrid stuff and I've also seen a horse eat it - pulls my hair out at people that ignore it! Is it me or dies there seems to be loads this summer?

 

[missieh]

I reported a bare field with tons of ragwort, being grazed by some ponies , to a very well known equine charity. They basically said there's not much they can do. I was made to feel like i was overreacting. They did send me some leaflets though for me to leave on the gate. Anyone would think it causes a slight rash!! Nevermind progressive, irreversible liver disease

 

[Tinseltoes]

I know what would make a horse eat ragwort - when it is hidden as small seedling plants in the grass they are eating. This attitude makes me sooo angry
A lot of people seem to think horses come to no harm because they appear to leave the plants alone but when there is a high concentration of plants, they are forced to eat the seedlings, which are just as poisonous. The ragwort spreads over more and more of the land leaving smaller areas of grass, which gets eaten down to bare earth. That leaves room for more ragwort seedlings to grow and flourish.
DON'T BE FOOLED THAT YOUR HORSES ARE COMING TO NO HARM.
You will not know when their liver is getting damaged until it is too late to help them.
Plants do not suddenly go from a seed to a metre high flower, it starts with only two tiny leaves, then four only 1" high so if your grass is 1" high it will be hidden amongst their mouthfuls as they eat. Continual consumption of tiny amounts every day over a period of years is just as bad as one choosing to eat whole plants instead of grass.
Every part of the plant, even flowers and seeds are poisonous so you are forcing them to eat ragwort - that's how horses are made to eat it.
Rant over, please go and pull/dig the plants before they seed and clear up every scrap of leaf you drop.

Well said Muff747 there is no excuse other than laziness to see ragwort growing in paddocks

Well said.Ive seen what ragwort can do to a horse/pony,its horrible.

 

[Spook]

I wonder if the meat from animals who have eaten lots of ragwort is contaminated or only their liver..... sheep I'm wondering about?..... is sheep/lambs liver eaten?

 

[amandap]

I wonder if the meat from animals who have eaten lots of ragwort is contaminated or only their liver..... sheep I'm wondering about?..... is sheep/lambs liver eaten?

This is a concern of mine because sheep actively eat ragwort, I have photo evidence of one of my lambs.
I was pointed to a study a couple of years ago concluding there was negligible risk to humans but grrr, I didn't save the link and can't find it.

Although sheep eat it I have been told it is actually poisonous to them too, so the tales I was told over the years of using sheep as ragwort control are a bit questionable ethically for me these days.

 

[fidgeuk]

The local travellers site ponies are grazing on a strip of land owned by the railway, which is more ragwort than grass. There are 4 mares and 3 foals, they all look thin. I wonder whether the foals have eaten any of the ragwort yet?

Wish there was something i could do but none of the horse welfare groups are interested.

 

[navaho]

We used to have a welsh cob gelding, we hadnt had him long & we were walking through the fields with some ragwort we had just pulled, he came over to say hello & before i could do anything he'd whipped the ragwort out of my hands & eaten it. I can only assume it was down to how he had been kept before we had him, he was in a small paddock with no grass what so ever in there & would eat anything placed in front of him. Dont get me wrong, he wasnt starved, his owners gave him plenty of hay & feed i just think it was the need to eat something green. He honestly was like a mobile strimmer, we had a massive bramble patch in our fields that my horses wouldnt touch, he cleared it in a couple of days. It does worry me what his future holds, but sadly we lost touch with him.
As for ragwort being poisonous to sheep, i do believe it actually it, its just most sheep arent round long enough for it to affect them

 

[ThePinkPony]

ARGH i was going to start a thread on it! there is so much everywhere at the moment, especially in the hosses feild, ive been pulling armfuls every day for a week, its just appearing everywhere.

The horses eat around it though, not that i leave any, and ive maybe found two bits that have been chomped but most of its been stamped down or left until ive pulled it. I think horses have to eat something like 5 percent of their forage allowance a day for 20 days to be substanitally affected.

 

[Ibblebibble]

i can't believe people knowingly leave horses grazing in fields where there is ragwort
we have trouble with it where i am but we are constantly checking the paddocks where there isn't any to make sure it hasn't seeded from the problem paddock, farmer has ploughed up 2 of his fields that were a problem because he doesn't want it spreading. my horses are out of my main paddock at the mo so i can spray the rosettes that are appearing, they won't be allowed back in until it's clear.

 

[muff747]

THEPINKPONY - Read my previous post -they are consuming ragwort if there are plants in the field
The plants just don't appear overnight, it take TWO YEARS to get to the flowering stage. They start as seedlings growing up through the grass which the horses cannot avoid eating, and they are equally as poisonous as the flowering plants, as are the seeds.
WAKE UP ALL THOSE THAT THINK THERE IS NO HARM DONE IF THEY DONT EAT THE FLOWERING PLANTS!!!!!
So the seeds germinate in late summer and grow into a flat rosette shape. The following year it flowers and then seeds - up to 150,000 on a large plant and they have > an 80% chance of germinating and if they get buried in mud over winter they can lay dormant in the soil for > 20 years!!!!
KNOW THINE ENEMY - get educated about the threat and do more to get rid.
I have found that pulling is not enough, spraying autumn and spring will knock it back to more manageable numbers but you have to get on top of it and then it is ZERO tolerance from then on. There's an old saying which is particularly true of ragwort - "One years seeds - seven years' weeds"
O and eating tiny amounts constantly is as bad as eating lots, it accumulates in the liver and destroys it bit by bit until around 75% is dead, then the horse begins to slowly poison itself as it can't get rid of any toxins from the blood, it is a horrible death - DO SOMETHING NOW TODAY

 

[indie999]

I always understood that if they are hungry they will eat it OR if they eat it they can get a liking for it and will continue eating it.

If a bit fell off and died it becomes less bitter more palatable so hence in hay they will eat it without realising.

Also informed it has areally bitter taste and as has probably been said mine will eat around it(until I dig or pull it up)...usually in long grass I pull it and sometimes dig or in spring i dig all the little florettes up.


Whats a shame is that if you do it regularly its not such a time consuming plant to remove ie do it whilst walking dog and take a carrier bag with me... I went from having a lot of ragwort and for two years it was hard work but now its very minimal ie 5 plants.

Sorry havent read the other posts. oh it does irreversible liver damage and its cumulative so once they start you will never get rid of the poison out of the body etc....just read the post above spot on!

 

[JessandCharlie]

I field near me, which as tonnes of the stuff in it has just been cut for hay...

J&C

 

[cumbriamax]

I know what would make a horse eat ragwort - when it is hidden as small seedling plants in the grass they are eating. This attitude makes me sooo angry
A lot of people seem to think horses come to no harm because they appear to leave the plants alone but when there is a high concentration of plants, they are forced to eat the seedlings, which are just as poisonous. The ragwort spreads over more and more of the land leaving smaller areas of grass, which gets eaten down to bare earth. That leaves room for more ragwort seedlings to grow and flourish.
DON'T BE FOOLED THAT YOUR HORSES ARE COMING TO NO HARM.
You will not know when their liver is getting damaged until it is too late to help them.
Plants do not suddenly go from a seed to a metre high flower, it starts with only two tiny leaves, then four only 1" high so if your grass is 1" high it will be hidden amongst their mouthfuls as they eat. Continual consumption of tiny amounts every day over a period of years is just as bad as one choosing to eat whole plants instead of grass.
Every part of the plant, even flowers and seeds are poisonous so you are forcing them to eat ragwort - that's how horses are made to eat it.
Rant over, please go and pull/dig the plants before they seed and clear up every scrap of leaf you drop.

totally agree with you, it is soul destroying when you walk round your fields and spot one tiny plant which consists of two leaves about as big as your fingernail-but totally agree even the tiniest plant should be dug.

 

[cumbriamax]

I wonder if the meat from animals who have eaten lots of ragwort is contaminated or only their liver..... sheep I'm wondering about?..... is sheep/lambs liver eaten?

I once read somewhere that it is illegal to graze dairy cows in fields with it in as it can poison the milk especially dangerous for children-but don't know if this is true?????

One thing that really confuses me is that it tends to be horse fields/paddocks that it is most common in-WHY?

V. rarely do I see farm land grazed by agricultural animals infested with it.

I took on a field four years ago and it had some dense clumps of ragwort in the middle paddock (sorry didn't mention that we divided it up) and we dug like mad to get rid and stop seeding next we used a sprayer(ordinary knapsack sprayer) to spray it- but even after spraying it needs to be dug as I was worried about wilted leaves blowing onto other paddocks.four years later I now find that I am on top of the problem as now instead of clumps of the weed I now find individual isolated plants to dig up.

when I was digging/spraying my field people were telling me how it was a waste of time cos it is impossible to get rid of and 'they'll never eat it'- I know this isn't true cos a pony I bought died from it(vet said from before we got her it had probably being killing her liver for years)- so yeah horses do eat it so needs to be pulled especially on public land.

 

[muff747]

I once read somewhere that it is illegal to graze dairy cows in fields with it in as it can poison the milk especially dangerous for children-but don't know if this is true?????

I have been trying to research this question for a few years now, I wish I could find out. There must have been a big problem with it in agriculture because The Weeds Act 1952 must have been debated in parliament and passed to make it against the law to allow ragwort to spread onto neighbours land. Please, if anyone can remember that far back LOL, or who has heard of why it was so important in 1952 to ban the spread, could you PM me, I would really like to know

One thing that really confuses me is that it tends to be horse fields/paddocks that it is most common in-WHY?
This is because of the way horses graze, they bite the grass with their front teeth and so they pull the stems off very close to the ground when there is too many horses in one field. This gives light and space for the stronger and much hardier ragwort seedling to flourish and take over before the grass has time to recover. DEFRA recommends keeping a good sward (depth) of grass and not overgrazing a field as one of the ways to control ragwort. If you look at a meadow with deep grass, the ragwort is not as thick as in a horse field where the grass has been eaten to the ground.

V. rarely do I see farm land grazed by agricultural animals infested with it.
This is because most farmers know the danger of allowing even one plant to grow on their land and so they get rid before it starts an epidemic. If you leave one plant to seed, you will have ten plants next year, if you leave those ten, you will have a hundred the next year. So pull out every single plant you see and make sure you get all the roots because you can be sure, if you leave any roots, it will come back as a bush next year

I took on a field four years ago and it had some dense clumps of ragwort in the middle paddock (sorry didn't mention that we divided it up) and we dug like mad to get rid and stop seeding next we used a sprayer(ordinary knapsack sprayer) to spray it- but even after spraying it needs to be dug as I was worried about wilted leaves blowing onto other paddocks.four years later I now find that I am on top of the problem as now instead of clumps of the weed I now find individual isolated plants to dig up.
Congratulations and well done for sticking at it. I wish all horse owners would take a leaf (HA HA) out of your book and do the same. Trouble is, many are too complacent and listen to others who say "but they don't eat it, they eat around it"

when I was digging/spraying my field people were telling me how it was a waste of time cos it is impossible to get rid of and 'they'll never eat it'- I know this isn't true cos a pony I bought died from it(vet said from before we got her it had probably being killing her liver for years)- so yeah horses do eat it so needs to be pulled especially on public land.

The vet is right, 1,000's of horses are dying each year because of comments like you were hearing. Dr Derek Knottenbelt, a very respected famous vet has been campaigning for years to get people to listen and do something.
Just because the horses look ok when they are grazing in amongst the plants, and go on for years apparently without any harm, doesn't mean they will not die of liver failure. Too many people have their heads in the sand. Ragwort is a slow but silent and deadly killer or horses, it accumulates over years in the liver until there is so much damage to it, it cannot funtion any more and the horse dies of liver failure.