# Killing weeds in horse patures



## Cherokee Rose (May 11, 2007)

I was justing wondering what is the safest weed killer to use in the horse pastures......Thanks Carrie


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## ChrystalPaths (May 11, 2007)

I don't...I fear poisons with animals so I just mow all 20 acres each week.


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## CyndiM (May 11, 2007)

If you do a search on here you will find a lot of previous discussion.

Some have used vinegar, graze-on, crossbow, roundup, others dig them out, it depends on what you prefer and also what type of weeds you have.


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## susanne (May 11, 2007)

Vinegar is always my first choice, as it is non-toxic to horses and won't touch the grass (it's really great on thistles)


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## Bess Kelly (May 12, 2007)

If you use Roundup, do NOT put the horses back on the pasture for several days...........7-10 at the least.

I had a worker spray this stuff at the perimeter of a pastures (AGAINST my explicit instructions!!). The mares ate the grass -- always greener on the "other" side. All three aborted within 24 hrs of that. They were late term, within 3 wks of foaling.

I've used "2, 4D" with no issues, and I only kept them off the fields for 3 days. GrazeOn is a product that says you don't even need to remove them. Both of these kill weeds and not grass, is mixed with water and sprayed. I'm getting ready to spray some next week.

Never tried vinegar...but, with several acres I spray the entire field, not patches.


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## rabbitsfizz (May 12, 2007)

Grazeon is on sale here and it carries a seven day minimum removal on it.

I would not return anything to graze for at least a week as basically I do not trust any of the manufacturers- try suing them if your horse dies- what do they care??

Quest is STILL being marketed as "safe" and it carries NO health warnings for Minis over here- again- basically- prove it!!

Vinegar is not commercially viable to spray and it doesn't touch Ragwort, which is the only one that truly bothers me.


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## Jill (May 12, 2007)

I'm not sure this would be an option, but I know my little Nigerian Dwarf Goats barely pay attention to grass but they LOVE any kind of weed they can find........


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## Cherokee Rose (May 12, 2007)

Thanks everyone for the replies...very much apperciated!! I had to laugh Jill I would love to have the goats.....but I think my hubby would kill me




: he really is a good sport so I guess I should'nt take advantage



:

rabbit.....is your ragwort the same as our ragweed? Because that is whats driving me nuts also ....we do mow but seems it's spreading anyway  And where do you all get grazeon at?

Like most of you I am worried about using toxic stuff just to kill weeds I think I might try vinegar....

Thank You all Very Much...........Carrie


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## Marsha Cassada (May 12, 2007)

24D is now regulated in my county and surrounding counties. It is a powerful hormone chemical and will affect some plants for at least 2 growing seasons. Used correctly, it can be a good tool. Call your local extension agent for more info, or the US Dept of Ag.


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## Equuisize (May 12, 2007)

We use a product caled WeedMaster.

Supposedly, applied correctly, you can put the animals

back out on it in just hours.

Being the 'Doubting Thomas" that I am I don't put them back

on for a week, for the geldings - and for a month for my mares.

Unless we had a couple realy good rains.


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## susanne (May 12, 2007)

Goats can be very effective for weed control...we have companies around here who will come out with a semi filled with goats (two levels!) and let them loose to eat blackberries and other plants. We've seriously considered this, but I'd have to wall off my roses and assorted shrubs and small trees.


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## rabbitsfizz (May 13, 2007)

NEVER mow Ragwort- that is what causes it to spread- it sends out suckers and puts up new plants!!!

I pull mine if I can and spot spray- I also put creosote down the holes I dig- although it is almost impossible to get creosote any more.

A good weed killer- or even try vinegar- would do instead.

I spot spray with roundup at double strength but it does kill grass- you need to get the centre of the plant and you need to dig or cut it as soon as it dies if the horses are on the pasture as they will eat it once it is dead- hence most ragwort poison coming from hay.

I know of a horse, a Mini, who came from a very well known breeder who always maintained her ragwort covered fields were no threat as the horses never ate it!!!

This horse lived for three years in a good, ragwort free field and then got access to a tiny amount- probably from hay- and died within a day- her daughter died the next week,- so much for them not eating it- they only need to ingest a tiny amount- when grazing round the plants they will pick up the odd fallen leaf- over a number of years.

The poison builds up in the system and is there for LIFE- it NEVER dissipates and the cause of death is liver failure.

Be warned!!!


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## Sonya (May 13, 2007)

like Jill and Suseanne said.....GOATS! My goats would not touch a blade of grass but chowed down on any weed they could find....also any tree with branches low enough to the ground for them to reach. If you have any woods you'd like to clear, goats will get you started!


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## Bassett (May 13, 2007)

susanne said:


> Vinegar is always my first choice, as it is non-toxic to horses and won't touch the grass (it's really great on thistles)


 
 
 
 
 
This sounds interesting. Do you dilute it or use it full strength. I dribbled some on my thistles last night and this A.M. they were black. We had rain last night so may have washed some of it off. Do you then use a sprayer or spritz by hand sprayer? I would prefer to use something not toxic. I am in the process of making my garden into a horse pasture.



:


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## Bess Kelly (May 13, 2007)

What does Ragwort look like? No such name on list with "common names" and don't know the bio name.

Thanks.


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## Bess Kelly (May 13, 2007)

OK, for anyone else who is wondering, it's Tansy Ragwort, has a flower similar to a daisy :









History and Impact

An invader from Europe, tansy ragwort was first seen in seaports in the early 1900's and is often spread in contaminated hay. When prevalent, tansy ragwort is one of the most common causes of poisoning in cattle and horses, caused by consumption of the weed found in pasture, hay or silage. Milk produced by affected cows and goats can contain toxins. Stock does not reject or avoid it in hay or silage; its poisonous alkaloids are unaffected by drying. Honey from tansy ragwort also contains the alkaloids.

Diagnosis

Clinical signs: chronic PA toxicosis is characterized by icterus, depression and anorexia. Often there are manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy: aimless wandering, head-pressing, excitement or disorientation. CNS signs are more common in horses. Secondary or hepatogenous photosensitization can occur.

Laboratory: consistent with hepatic insufficiency. PA-DNA adducts can be detected in liver tissue.

Lesions: portal fibrosis, megalocytosis, hepatocellular necrosis, bile duct hyperplasia, bile stasis and nodular hyperplasia.

Treatment

Often futile due to advanced, irreversible damage to liver.

Prevention

Control plants with herbicides and good pasture management


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## kareng (May 14, 2007)

We use vinegar (acetic acid) in higher concentrations than common household vinegar as an organic alternative to keep our fencelines and parking area clear of weeds (we have a limestone driveway and the grass comes up and with the dogs in the yard I'm nervous about using a commercial product). You shouldn't use it right before a rain as it will just wash away. If you google using vinegar to kill weeds it will bring up many articles regarding the use of it. Alot of universities are doing research on it especially with the popularity of organic farming. Since it will kill all weeds and grass it comes into contact with (changes the ph of soil) I don't use it on my fields. I just mow regularly.

kareng


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## suz (May 16, 2007)

I had the same question.

Even though I board, I worry what the owner of the barn does re: weed control.

I might mention vinegar to her next time I see her.

Not to sound stupid, but which type of vinegar - white or apple cider?

And would you just put it in a sprayer and go at it?


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## tagalong (May 17, 2007)

> I know of a horse, a Mini, who came from a very well known breeder who always maintained her ragwort covered fields were no threat as the horses never ate it!!!


It IS true that horses will _not_ eat the _green_, growing tansy.... it has a terrible taste and you may see where horses have eaten under the tansy leaves to get the grass and not touched the tansy plant itself. Horses get poisoned from tansy usually when it is dry - baled in hay or dead plants/leaves... then it is far more palatable and some horses actually like it...



> This horse lived for three years in a good, ragwort free field and then *got access to a tiny amount- probably from hay- and died within a day*- her daughter died the next week,- so much for them not eating it- they only need to ingest a tiny amount- when grazing round the plants they will pick up the odd fallen leaf- over a number of years.


The only way that a horse could die within a day from eating it would be if they consumed a great quantity of it - not just a tiny amount. That is not usually how tansy poisoning works - it is accumulative over time. Symptoms may take six months to show up - thus a few years ago when a gelding went off his feed and was "wrong" our vet ran tests and determined that it was tansy poisoning... he must have picked up dry stuff along the fenceline starting the previous spring when the field next door was sprayed - and some dry bits escaped. Others could possibly have done the same thing - but after everyone else was tested that was not the case. Only Jimmy thought he had found a tasty delicacy. Only he sampled it - and eventually succumbed.

*Tansy seeds can lay dormant in fields for 15 years. * The stuff we are spraying and pulling this year may have been prevented when the previous owners were in charge. It is the bane of my existence here - and the Tansy Wars are a fact of life. We have pulled it, sprayed it, pulled it again, sprayed again... and this year it looks like we will have the fewest plants ever trying to poke their heads up and take over... but the War continues and it is never-ending... you can think you are ahead of the game - but when the guy down the road a ways has 4 foot tansy plants spewing their seeds into the wind, you realize that you are screwed.... :no:


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## Shari (May 17, 2007)

White Vinegar with Lemon Joy soap, sprayed on a hot day will take care of most weeds. That is what I use. Sometimes we have to spray a couple of times..but it normally does the trick.

If you have a tough weed..as salt to the mix..just make sure it isn't sprayed near plants you like.

I am way behind right now..and buttercups are getting a foot hold. Sigh ~ ~

For tansy,, hand pulling before the seeds set , placing in a thick black trash bag..which is tied shut before putting in the trash. ..is the best method. Another good one..order the Tansy catapillar..yes,,they have catapillars that will eat tansy and you can buy them on line.

The young plants look different than the adult plants. But in both stages the plant will leave and odd smell on your hands if you do not use gloves.

I would recommend learning that smell..and once you do..use gloves.

AS for horse never eating a posionus plant..green or other wise. Don't bet their life on it. Sometimes they get a taste for it..no matter how bitter. Then you end up with a very sick or dead horse. Seen it too many times over the years.

My grey Ice mare has a taste for Bracken. Is a fight removing braken from the pastures and she will go for it no matter how wonderful the hay.

Anyway.. you get the idea.


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## tagalong (May 17, 2007)

*Shari* - you mentioned the smell that tansy has.... add the bad taste to that - and it is _extremely_ unpalatable to horses. I helped rescue two QH mares last year - thin and starving in a lot full of nothing but tansy... and they had not touched it. Tests confirmed that later. Even a starving horse turned it down! As I said - the dry/dead leaves and plants are far more palatable and are where most of the danger is. Of course - there may be some peculiar horse out there who fancies the foul smell and bitter taste... there is always an exception to every "rule" - and so the tansy wars rage on.

For those who do not know - the young plants start out looking fairly innocuous - and then turn into poofy-looking "mounds" - the taller stalks come later.


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## Shari (May 17, 2007)

tagalong said:


> *Shari* - you mentioned the smell that tansy has.... add the bad taste to that - and it is _extremely_ unpalatable to horses. I helped rescue two QH mares last year - thin and starving in a lot full of nothing but tansy... and they had not touched it. Tests confirmed that later. Even a starving horse turned it down! As I said - the dry/dead leaves and plants are far more palatable and are where most of the danger is. Of course - there may be some peculiar horse out there who fancies the foul smell and bitter taste... there is always an exception to every "rule" - and so the tansy wars rage on.
> 
> For those who do not know - the young plants start out looking fairly innocuous - and then turn into poofy-looking "mounds" - the taller stalks come later.


Be that as it may. I know 4 horses, personally over the years that have eaten and died from Tansy posioning and yes each time the Vets confirmed it.

So again...do not assume that a horse will not eat toxic plants of any kind.

Better be safe that sorry.


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## susanne (May 17, 2007)

Shari,

Did you know that Columbia County uses the Tansy worm to control the weed? They also used another worm/caterpillar or whatever that is controlling scotch broom.

With vinegar, I've found the regular table vinegar, used full-strength, to do a good enough job that I've yet to use the stronger concentrations. Be aware that some of these are considered hazardous materials. They also kill all the flora/fauna bio-life where sprayed, so you won't have anything growing where you spray the greater strengths.

Unlike RoundUp and other systemic poisons, vinegar remains active in the soil. My sister sprayed the weeds in her driveway and noticed browning in her boxwood hedge.

I've used a spray bottle to apply it, but I plan to use a tank sprayer when tackling our hillside. I just bought a big jug of white vinegar, but other than getting a large amount cheaply, I don't think the type vinegar matters.


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## Shari (May 17, 2007)

Oh yes, knew about Columbia county...few other counties use them too.... you can buy the Tansy Catapillers online...have a catalogue around here some where where they have bugs that eat and kill many toxic plants.

Kitsap county did not have a program for such stuff when we first moved there from NH. But they do now..gave them one of our extra catalogues all those years ago. :bgrin

I just pulled a baby tansy up this morning. First outing I have had in awhile. DS helped work on some of my perinnels..spotted the evil thing.

Was a mjor problem up north..not so much of one here. Keep a pretty good eye out. Though the last few months have been all but impossible to check.

The Vinegar can change the ph of the soil if used too often and a lot. But it will break down over time and soil will return to normal. Even with this..still much better because if you did the same thing with roundup..instead of just a bit of burn..you would really loose the whole plant.

I use a nice pressure sprayer and only spray each weed. Yes..takes more time but less likely to get things I do not want to die.

Of course I do not have the gardens here like I did at the old place..so I do not have to be as careful. Tons more land though so more weeds. Sigh ~~

This is still the least toxic way to kill weeds....other than hand pulling. Much safer for horses and pets of all kinds.


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## The Dynamic Duo (May 19, 2007)

We rotate pastures so the worst weeded one goes to the pig since he loooves weeds.


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