20/07/2026
*** IT IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO REMOVE RAGWORT FROM ALL LAND USED FOR GRAZING HORSES AND LIVESTOCK ***
I have, once again, been shocked at the amount of ragwort I’ve seen left in paddocks with horses in. Even the most clueless of horse owners can normally tell you that ragwort is poisonous to horses, so why are so many owners not pulling it?! There really is no excuse! Most of the UK currently has little to no grass, and yes, horses will eat it; they normally only eat it when it’s dry/wilted, but why risk them eating it by leaving it in bare paddocks? I’m talking about the fields absolutely covered in it, rather than the odd piece that catches us all out.
It is actually an OFFENCE to leave ragwort in any field intended for grazing or hay making, AND an offence to allow it to seed and spread onto neighbouring land, if that neighbouring land is used for the same. That neighbour is within their rights to take LEGAL ACTION against you, if you allow ragwort to flower and seed on your land. I cannot fathom why you wouldn’t want to clear your own paddocks of ragwort, as it is both chronically and acutely POISONOUS to horses. It is absolutely not safe to just assume that horses won’t eat it. There is hardly any grass in any paddocks at the moment, and these are normally the paddocks that you see full of ragwort.
Under the Weeds Act 1959, you can be FINED for leaving ragwort to flower and seed on your land, if it is used for, or adjacent to, grazing livestock. Yes, obviously it’s unlikely that DEFRA are going to look into every reported case, or even many cases, but I don’t understand why people with horses think it’s ok to leave it.
Ragwort poisoning is often fatal, and at best causes severe liver damage.
Don’t be complacent and lazy; pull that ragwort TODAY! We are all caught out by the odd bit of ragwort here and there, that has seemingly appeared overnight, but I’m talking about the crops of the stuff that should have been pulled weeks ago.
