RAGWORT POISONING can lead to liver damage and, in severe cases, death in horses and other livestock.

A warning has been issued by World Horse Welfare urging horse and livestock owners to be vigilant when grazing animals in pasture fields which contain ragwort.

The plant bears large clusters of yellow daisy-like flowers which contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are toxic in large quantities. The deputy chief executive of World Horse Welfare, Tony Tyler, pointed out that landowners have a duty of care to remove ragwort from fields where livestock are growing.

“Ragwort is a particularly dangerous plant for horses as it is an accumulative poison. The toxins add up in their system and can cause liver damage. That in itself can cause fairly horrendous symptoms including colic, diarrhoea and in severe cases, blindness and even collapse, coma and death in horses."

He added that in general terms, horses don’t eat ragwort and will graze around it due to its bitter taste, but warned that when grass is cut and baled for hay and ragwort is dried into the mix, it becomes more palatable for grazing animals, but no less toxic.

“If ragwort is knocked down in the field and allowed to dry out, it becomes less bitter, so horses will nibble on it. All owners of land where there is livestock of any sort nearby have a duty of care to remove ragwort.”

This extends to neighbouring fields, as ragwort seeds can blow huge distances. These seeds can lie dormant for years, making it more imperative to deal with the problem quickly to stop the spread of ragwort in the future.

“It is crucial to keep an eye out for plants that are growing and remove them before they get larger,” Mr Tyler advised.

To find out more about ragwort, The British Horse Society provides an advisory toolkit which can be accessed online here - https://www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/our-campaigns/ragwort-toolkit