07/08/2025
One thing you notice in the hedgerows and fields at the moment is Ragwort as it is flowering NOW and it’s characteristic yellow flowers are very distinctive!
Most horse owners know that it should be pulled up and removed but the horses don’t seem to eat it, so why bother??
Although horses will avoid it if possible in the green they are more likely to eat it if it dried and made into hay accidentally. It contains toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids which cause irreparable damage to the liver, so repeated exposure has a cumulative effect and can result in liver failure in the horse.
Ragwort is also listed as an injurious w**d under the Weeds Act (Scotland) 1959, whereby authorities can insist on its control.
Removal is recommended to prevent spread (into hay meadows!) as it seeds easily, so it needs to be pulled up with it’s roots and removed from the pasture (as it can still set seed once pulled) and disposed of appropriately.
Recommended disposal is sealing in plastic bags for incineration or landfill. Or it can be disposed of in an environmentally appropriate way - but open composting is not recommended and temperatures must be high enough to kill the seeds.
