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tracey_c
Gold Member
 England
1009 Posts |
 Posted - 21 May 2005 : 07:52:56 AM
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What is the easiest and fastest way of gettting rid of these, they're everywhere
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********G4 ROCK********
*****BUT NOT AS MUCH AS THE ARABIAN!***** |
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silv
Gold Member
United Kingdom
550 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2005 : 12:47:30 PM
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We had thousands last year at the old yard.......I really feel for you! I was told to keep mowing them and eventually the grass should take over......cant say it worked too well
They are also poisonous to hhorses....though they usually dont eat them.Good luck |
   
>>>A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't.
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Jingo
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3632 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2005 : 2:58:32 PM
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Sheep are good, they seem to like them and eat them with no side effects.
Check the ph level of your ground - I think they flourish on ground that needs lime. |
Jude
www.auchmillanarabians.org.uk
      
photos:Anthony Reynolds,Sweet,Deano,Real Time Imaging |
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nicolanapper
Platinum Member
England
4247 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2005 : 3:58:17 PM
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We do have sheep on our land for 4-5 months of the year to keep the land in good shape. However, they do not keep on top of the buttercups, so we do have them sprayed, slowly now they are starting to receed from the fields to the point where we hardly have anymore.
Nicky |
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tracey_c
Gold Member
England
1009 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2005 : 7:26:50 PM
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| thanks , will see what we can do there are LOADS of them EVERYWHERE |
********G4 ROCK********
*****BUT NOT AS MUCH AS THE ARABIAN!***** |
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Wyllow
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
2885 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2005 : 10:18:29 PM
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It seems to be the year for them! They are all over the place here ~ but the horse ignore them totally.
That other yellow peril, Ragwort is making it's nasty presence felt though and there's no way I'll leave a single sprout of the ghastly stuff standing!
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Fine Art & Photography
www.catehamilton.com
 
Cate Hamilton
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nicolanapper
Platinum Member
England
4247 Posts |
Posted - 22 May 2005 : 3:42:58 PM
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I have been out this morning in my small paddock and picked at least 10 small ragwort plants. They were not there last year, I am positively paranoid if I see this plant, and my kids will tell you much to their embarrassment I have been known to pull up on the sides of roads and pull this wretched weed out, I even do it when I am riding especially if it is growing high up in hedgerows.
Nicky |
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NPA Arabians
Moderator
United Kingdom
2980 Posts |
Posted - 22 May 2005 : 5:30:14 PM
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Please everyone - when you are "pulling" ragwort - Wear thick non-pourous gloves - I read an article a couple of years ago where they had tested someones blood, before & after and the results were horifying!
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Jayne Armstrong - NPA Arabians
:-) :-) :-) :-) |
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louisejo
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1313 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 10:14:53 AM
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My field is carpeted in yellow buttercups, how are they poisonous to horses?
Louise |
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Wyllow
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
2885 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 10:23:56 AM
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I'm trying to find out myself, but all I can say is that the horses don't touch them.
Yes, it's actually very important to wear gloves as ragwort is not a very nice plant to humans either! Another pulling bout later to enjoy ~ and yes, I tend to pull it up wherever I see it too!
Is it classified as a notifiable "injurous" weed yet ?
Thistles are, but horses hardly want to nibble THOSE!! |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 10:50:45 AM
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I have spent years pulling ragwort up by hand  . I tend to dig it up now AND wear gloves. I have landfill next door to my fields and they have a yellow carpet.
Vera and Dennis |
    
Hampshire |
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pat ww
Platinum Member
United Kingdom
3459 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 3:16:15 PM
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It seems to be a buttercup year, never had them before and now they are a mass of yellow everywhere. i think its too late to spray once they have flowered, as it needs to get into the green leafy bit, which seems to disappear once the flowers open.
I've religiously pulled ragwort, wearing gloves!, but last year I invested in a ragfork they are about £25 and worth every penny. The advantage over spraying is you can use it while the horses graze so long as you remeber to take every last scrap out of the field.
Hopefully this year i can get the lot sprayed, as with fewer horses i can keep them off the main field while it dies back.
Even though i've never let a ragwort flower live, they blow in from outside and can live 20 years and still germinate, so we are all paying for those that dont control them.
Derek Knottenbelt from Liverpool vet school is a keen anti- ragworter, I think he was part of the pressure group to get ragwort reclassified and stiffer penalties for non control.
Ragwort has to burnt, if you just leave it in piles to rot you wont destroy the seeds by composting.
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Katie
Gold Member
United Kingdom
527 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 3:30:51 PM
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We have a reasonable amount of buttercups at our yard but the horses never touch them and in the 15 years I have been there none have ever been ill.
Someone mentioned thistles....are these poisionous to horses??? My mare loves them! She will bite them off ever so carefully to avoid her lips touching the *****les and then suck them in and chew VERY carefully!
She has never had any side effects! |
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Air Dragon
New Member
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 6:41:21 PM
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Firstly "hi" everyone - I've been a member for a while but tend to read more than post - mainly read the "sale" pages.
I've researched buttercups quite a bit as I get lots on my land. Spraying is the best way to get rid of them as they have runners so are difficult to dig.
They are toxic, and it's a cumulative toxin which causes liver damage. The first signs of liver damage from buttercups is the horse becoming photosensitive, ie becoming prone to sunburn on their white or pink areas. The liver damage is potentially fatal over a number of years.
The good news is that buttercups don't taste nice so most horses won't eat them, though if they are in a "slimmers paddock" and hungry (eg potential laminitics or fatties) then they just might.
Another point is that, even when they are not eaten, direct skin contact with the plant can cause skin blistering/cracking on some horses with pink skin. Usually this is in the muzzle & lower leg areas which obviously contact more, but it can be anywhere if the horse is lying down in them.
Having said all that, my lots-of-white-bits arab hasn't had any problems (though as a cumulative toxin I might just not be seeing it yet) so I don't think we need panic too much, but best idea is definately to remove the horse and spray.
ps - thistles and dandelions both fine! |
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Roseanne
Moderator
United Kingdom
6708 Posts |
Posted - 23 May 2005 : 9:41:33 PM
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| Someone (an old army horseman) told me once that a condition similar to mud fever used to be called buttercup disease. The theory went that buttercups and thistles are out at the same time. The thistles cause pin ****** on the lower legs and the irritating properties of the buttercups then cause the soreness and scabs. |
Roseanne |
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