EVERY summer horse owners across Ireland have to deal with ragwort. I’ve very little, but still spent a good couple of hours clearing the yellow menace from a couple of fields. This deadly poisonous plant can be fatal to horses and is very difficult to ever fully remove from paddocks.

In general, horses will instinctively avoid eating ragwort, however, if grazing is sparse they will eat the weed. It is most dangerous to young and old animals. The poison contained in the weed does not accumulate in the body, over time it destroys liver cells and eventually can result in liver failure.