Weed Control in Equine Paddocks

• Many weeds are unpalatable to horses/ponies so can significantly reduce their grazing area
• Certain weeds such as ragwort can be poisonous
• Weeds present in a paddock can make the area look untidy and unkempt
• They compete with the grass for nutrients, water, space and light
• Can spread quickly into neighbouring paddocks/properties

Selective weed killers are one of the best ways of controlling weeds within horse pastures as they allow you to tackle weeds without affecting the important grazing grass. There is no such thing as one single product for all weeds, so careful choice of product is required to ensure target weeds are controlled. Sometimes even herbs and nitrogen-fixing plants (such as clover) are left to improve soil nutrition. Our qualified technical advisors and helpful product pages on the website can help with this choice (see below).

This question largely depends on what weeds you are trying to control. Here are a few suggestions for selective weed killers and what they are great at controlling:

• Leystar 2L – Controls thistles, nettles, docks, buttercups and clover. 7 day livestock exclusion period. Suitable for knapsack and boom spray application
• ProClova XL – The product of choice for controlling dock weeds and other broad-leaved weeds. ProClova XL is an effective, broad-spectrum, selective weed killer that is a clover-safe solution for treating weeds in newly sown lets and established grassland. This comes in a twin pack containing 250g Proclova + 500ml XL Adjuvant to be tank mixed together.
• PastureMaster - Effective selective weed killers on weeds such as ragwort and docks. 14 day animal exclusion period however if ragwort or other poisonous weeds have been treated you need to make sure that the weed has completely died and cleared away

When it comes to using weed killers in areas that are grazed by animals, it is important to note the exclusion periods you need to leave before allowing animals back into the paddock. Most products have an exclusion period of between 7 and 14 days however if you are treating weeds which are poisonous to animals these exclusion periods will be extended. If you are controlling ragwort weeds, for example, post-spraying they become more palatable to horses and their toxicity increases, so dead plants must be removed or grazing animals kept out until there are no remains left…

Once the animals have been removed from the area that is going to be treated, you will be able to spray the weeds with a selective weed killer and allow for the weed to die off.

If you need assistance on which weed killer you should use, please call our expert technical advisers on 01778 394052