Granity
I totally disagee with your statement.
If it were not in a public places where young folk ride their horses, I would leave well alone, but I would hate to think of the consequences leading to the death of an unsuspecting horse.

By the way, I think your reference to the German party is totally unfounded and take personal insult to this, since they have brought misery to my family than Ragort has done to the equine community.

Thanks for your concern.

P.S. Big hug to your family and friends

On 2009-07-22 10:00:08 +0100, Stuee said:


Whilst I find both the plant and moth interesting, there is a place for
this.
Having just recently become aware of the "ragwort" and all it
encompasses, I feel loathe to remove it. However, as I have discovered
it on local common land where horses are ridden, I feel it is my duty
to help protect these unwary travellers (and dogs) and have reported it
to the local council.
Much is the pity to remove the food source of the Cinnabar, but needs
are must.

Horses that are being ridden won't eat ragwort because their riders
won't allow it! Are you also going to fell oak trees? Acorns are
poisonous to horses, you know. A friend of mine lost her horse just
this way a few years ago. By all means keep ragwort off fields horses
graze in but no need to do so on common land that's ridden and walked
on.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Sorry if I offended you with the term which, strictly non PC, is frequently used nowadays to describe any person who has an over-zealous and oft misguided approach to safety matters, they think that anything that could conceivably be harmful, should immediately be eradicated by the authorities rather than take the responsibility of teaching their offspring how to recognize and avoid danger, Which plants are safe to eat and which must be avoided at all costs. It's also one of the causes for the huge increase in allergic reactions to things because they don't build up any anti-bodies. They also, when their child drowns in a disused gravel pit that they climbed over a fence adorned with notices spelling out the dangers within, want to know why the local authority hadn't filled it in to prevent that sort of thing from happening. People who ride horses are mostly aware of the dangers of ragwort and to avoid letting the horse graze near it. those who are not shouldn't be riding on their own because they have not been made aware of all the dangers.

By the way, do you also report the presence of wild foxgloves, deadly night shade, hemlock, poisonous fungi etc? All just as dangerous as ragwort.

The world is a dangerous place, rather than try to change the world it's easier to educate the kids about it.

Hugs Back.

In message , Sacha
writes
On 2009-07-22 10:00:08 +0100, Stuee said:

Whilst I find both the plant and moth interesting, there is a place
for
this.
Having just recently become aware of the "ragwort" and all it
encompasses, I feel loathe to remove it. However, as I have discovered
it on local common land where horses are ridden, I feel it is my duty
to help protect these unwary travellers (and dogs) and have reported it
to the local council.
Much is the pity to remove the food source of the Cinnabar, but needs
are must.

Horses that are being ridden won't eat ragwort because their riders
won't allow it! Are you also going to fell oak trees? Acorns are
poisonous to horses, you know. A friend of mine lost her horse just
this way a few years ago. By all means keep ragwort off fields horses
graze in but no need to do so on common land that's ridden and walked on.

I'm told that ragwort in fields that horses graze isn't a problem
either, unless the horses are allowed to eat the fields bare - horses
avoid ragwort. The problem is, I'm told, that when fields containing
ragwort are cut for hay, as horses no longer discriminate against
ragwort when it's in hay.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Granity wrote:


By the way, do you also report the presence of wild foxgloves, deadly
night shade, hemlock, poisonous fungi etc? All just as dangerous as
ragwort.

All *much more* dangerous than ragwort in a way as they're capable of
killing in relatively small doses. A horse needs to eat a fair amount
of ragwort before it is poisoned. The insidious thing about ragwort
poisoning though is that it's cumulative and irreversible so a little
bit each year for several years can cause enough liver damage to kill.


The world is a dangerous place, rather than try to change the world
it's easier to educate the kids about it.

.... and they're unlikely to eat ragwort! :-) (As far as I know you'd
have to ingest ragwort for it to do any damage, just touching and/or
pulling it up isn't going to do any harm, unless you lick your fingers
afterwards.)

--
Chris Green

Beware, ragwort is poisonous to humans and is absorbed through the skin! As a horse owner I always wear rubber gloves when digging/pulling it up, a good information site on ragwort is http://www.equi-therapy.net/equi-therapy/care/ragwort.shtml

TowyMist1 wrote:

;857541 Wrote:
Granity wrote:-


By the way, do you also report the presence of wild foxgloves, deadly
night shade, hemlock, poisonous fungi etc? All just as dangerous as
ragwort.
-
All *much more* dangerous than ragwort in a way as they're capable of
killing in relatively small doses. A horse needs to eat a fair amount
of ragwort before it is poisoned. The insidious thing about ragwort
poisoning though is that it's cumulative and irreversible so a little
bit each year for several years can cause enough liver damage to kill.

-
The world is a dangerous place, rather than try to change the world
it's easier to educate the kids about it.
-
.... and they're unlikely to eat ragwort! :-) (As far as I know
you'd
have to ingest ragwort for it to do any damage, just touching and/or
pulling it up isn't going to do any harm, unless you lick your fingers
afterwards.)

--
Chris Green

Beware, ragwort is poisonous to humans and is absorbed through the
skin!

That's nonsense - see:-

http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-humans.html

The whole of the www.ragwortfacts.com is quite interesting, it
somewhat moderates the paranoia about ragwort though that is not to
say that ragwort isn't a problem.

As a horse owner I always wear rubber gloves when
digging/pulling it up, a good information site on ragwort is
http://www.equi-therapy.net/equi-therapy/care/ragwort.shtml

That site does have some sensible advice, especially the bit about
good grazing management being the *real* long term cure for ragwort,
pulling it up is really a waste of time.

--
Chris Green

All *much more* dangerous than ragwort in a way as they're capable of
killing in relatively small doses. A horse needs to eat a fair amount
of ragwort before it is poisoned. The insidious thing about ragwort
poisoning though is that it's cumulative and irreversible so a little
bit each year for several years can cause enough liver damage to kill.

-
The world is a dangerous place, rather than try to change the world
it's easier to educate the kids about it.
-
.... and they're unlikely to eat ragwort! :-) (As far as I know
you'd
have to ingest ragwort for it to do any damage, just touching and/or
pulling it up isn't going to do any harm, unless you lick your fingers
afterwards.)

--
Chris Green

Beware, ragwort is poisonous to humans and is absorbed through the
skin! As a horse owner I always wear rubber gloves when
digging/pulling it up, a good information site on ragwort is
http://www.equi-therapy.net/equi-therapy/care/ragwort.shtml




The reputation ragwort has, particularly in the UK may be over hyped.

http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-myths.html

http://www.ragwort.org/


mark