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Post by poppyandbea on Jul 3, 2010 9:57:18 GMT 1
im lucky as not much around me, but my mares battling a liver condition and vets never ruled out ragwort, shes looking loads better and gaining weight now and looks more like a welsh cob. it will have been a years battle in september and shes under gone 3 liver biopsy, loads of bloods variours treatments and bloods still bad although the last ones showed slight improvement, shes blood tested again in july and i will know if she has to be pts or not as im not putting her through more biopsys etc as not fair on her although shes happy in her self. her biopsys were inconclusive as shes only 6 vets think down to the neglect she had before i got her and they cant rule out ragwort as i later found out her mum and her were in a field full of it when she was a foal, her breeder since has been banned for keeping horses for life. although the last biopys said she didnt have fibrosis vets at newmarket said it would only be time unless her liver starts functioning, so i would also advise any one buying a new horse to get them blood tested as well in the vetting. as watching you horse keep getting colic , lami, loose weight and become very nervous and change its behaviour isnt nice
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blueali
Olympic Poster
water horse vs. land horse
Posts: 822
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Post by blueali on Jul 6, 2010 12:22:30 GMT 1
Next week the BHS are tryimg to get a snapshot survey of all the ragwort near grazing animals in the country. You just have to fill in a form (on website) with location and amount, it is completely comfidential. I think it is an excellent idea to really get something done about all the ragwort on the verges and fields around us. I am going to record any ragwort everywhere I go next week. Please take a look yourselves.
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Post by mandal on Jul 6, 2010 12:27:11 GMT 1
I hope the survey includes hay fields too. This imo is the greatest risk to horses especially if the hay is rebaled and stems removed.
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Post by mrsmills on Jul 6, 2010 19:48:40 GMT 1
Yes, blueali, I also had noticed the survey with the BHS and have been planning to complete it - it should prove a very useful snapshot of where ragwort is growing, wlthough I notice that they are only interested in that growing near livestock.
Just spent a couple of hours, literally dripping with sweat, pulling up ragwort in my girl's field - much better than going to the gym (you should see my biceps! LOL) Must admit that since owning horses I've become totally obsessed with the stuff, and can spot a plant at more than 50 yards away. I swear I even dream about the stuff!
I think people have to change their attitude towards it, and education and publicity is the way forward. I particularly hate those arty photos of the stuff, and was gutted to see one of the presenters on "Escape to the country" on TV recently wandering through a field full of the stuff!
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blueali
Olympic Poster
water horse vs. land horse
Posts: 822
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Post by blueali on Jul 6, 2010 20:11:35 GMT 1
Rode past a livery yard today with quite posh horses and their fields could be a ragwort crop. What hope is there?
I do sweeps of my field every other week, I think I have ragwort radar. And I love my ragfork.
Am looking after someone's cat and they have some growing in their garden, it is next to some intentional plants that look exactly like ragwort but with silver grey leaves - what is this?
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Post by sharonh on Jul 16, 2011 20:43:14 GMT 1
Sounds like senecio greyii (I think that's how you spell it!) I know that's a relative of ragwort.
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Post by gwenoakes on Jul 18, 2011 6:19:02 GMT 1
Clare and I are doing a 'little' experiment with ragwort.
Heard/read somewhere that salt killed it, so have tried the agri salt, sorry cant remember the name of it and I am trying common or garden cooking salt too. Clare has dug up in the field and put salt in to hopefully kill any remaining roots off and I am putting cooking salt on any in our lawn and will check to see what if any has come back in those places. Hopefully one of these will work.
Household salt does kill dandelions off in your lawn, never to come back, so our fingers are crossed.
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rie1
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 162
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Post by rie1 on Jul 18, 2011 8:12:36 GMT 1
I think Rock Salt was also advised when i was looking up what kills ragwort as we are over run by it,trouble is no sooner have we dug it up it seems to be back again!! Just up the road from where i live there is a field with 2 horses in that is full of ragwort in full bloom,1 of which is only young (the horse that is)!
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Post by Lulu on Jul 18, 2011 10:32:33 GMT 1
God I pass horses living in the stuff, as well as cows. I am afraid to report them as they own the land I rent, and I would be kicked off if I was ever caught. I know people who pull it up and leave it on the ground which infuriates me as they immediately go to seed once pulled and infest even more land with their seed.... I can't win. My neighbouring field has flowering ragwort in at the bottom, looks like I will have to weed someone else's field to prevent it infecting MINE... it really does annoy me. We have a new farm manager and I hear he's going to spray and try and get on top of the ragwort (he has a tough job as it's always been bad, the last farm manager never did anything about it really, he did cut it (when in flower) to "hide" it lol
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Post by rj on Jul 18, 2011 11:27:05 GMT 1
Report all ragwort to the BHS. Last week was their survey week, but let them know anyway.
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Post by Fussymare on Jul 21, 2011 20:29:52 GMT 1
I've been at yards where the owners were cutting hay, and I know for sure that there was ragwort growing in the field. Not a huge amount, granted, but when we raised the issue with them they were really quite angry with us! And they expected us to feed that hay to our horses! Needless to say I moved quickly. I have just spent last weekend digging out ragwort as the soil was nice and damp, and I am obsessive and get even the really tiny rosettes. My friend who rents the other half of my field (completely separate) always leaves hers until flowering and then pulls it. Our neighbour (who also has horses on her own land) even asked my friend if she could come in to the field and dig it up for her last year - I would have been mortified but she was just glad she didn't have to do it herself! I agree about it growing more where the rabbits scrape and scratch. Where the scrapings occur in my field, there are always lots of little ragwort plants around the edge, or in the shallow holes.
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Post by troop on Jul 27, 2011 10:54:51 GMT 1
I was out pulling ragwort again yesterday (i swear to god it just sprouts over night its evil)
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Post by cbc on Jul 27, 2011 19:55:31 GMT 1
I am a great fan of the ragfork, it it great but one of the big hassles of ragwort (and indeed a lot of other invasive weeds) is that any trace of root left in the ground will grow again. I have immediate experience of this. So all us battlers against this weed can do is be vigilant, if we are lucky and have the space spray WISELY, but never let your guard down. Ragwort wants to survive(from a biological point of view) as much as we do...
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lc
Olympic Poster
Posts: 670
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Post by lc on Jul 27, 2011 21:43:54 GMT 1
The field I share was full of the stuff, we cleared a paddock where the horses graze and have gradually worked up the field, about a 1/4 of the field left to do. Only took the paddock on this year! However there were patches of ragwort that had been killed by black fly and we also had a helping hand from the caterpillars. We will spray early next year to hopefully stop some of it and I'm going to put salt on some of the rossettes as that kills them and is cheap, we can concentrate on the stuff in bloom then! I've always pulled up ragwort, even when at a yard as I don't want my horse eating it but a lot of people think that because they pay livery they shouldn't get their hands dirty i'm afraid. Luckily I was always able to badger the people I shared the field with to help, after all it was for the benefit of their horses too!
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lc
Olympic Poster
Posts: 670
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Post by lc on Jul 27, 2011 21:47:51 GMT 1
I use table salt it does work, may take a few doses, best doing it when it's dry weather as it takes all the moisture out of the plant so it dies. If there is rain or a lot of dew it may take a few doses to kill it.
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