In article ,
ned wrote:
Kate Morgan wrote:
I will clear mine as soon as I see it as my brother has a horse and
I know how you feel Kate

Can I just suggest that more horses die of laminitis (over indulgence
of rich grazing) than ragwort induced liver failure. (Veterinarian's
observation.) Right then, lets all kill off all the grassland.

My guess is that the ragwort problem is at least partially caused by
the change from farmland to yuppieland. It is certainly the cause
of thistle and similar infestations.

Traditionally, most horses were grazed on land that was also grazed
by cattle. Because of the way that the latter eat, they tend to
'improve' pasture by reducing the tall weed plants. Of course,
once the pasture has got out of control, they will not eat clumps
of them and mowing or similar is needed.

Horses and sheep tend to avoid such weeds, and so allow them to
build up. The inefficient digestive system of horses also allows
weed seeds to be spread by their dung, which is probably irrelevant
to ragwort. This is why the traditional farming viewpoint is that
horses are bad for pasture.

The yuppie aspect is even worse than traditional horse grazing, in
that some of it has the horse at pasture for only some of the year,
thus allowing the weeds to grow during that time even if they would
have been eaten when young. Once they are above a certain size, they
are avoided.

I can't say for certain that the above is true for ragwort as well
as thistles and docks, but my observation of its growth patterns
indicates that it may be.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.