IMPORTANT QUESTION!

Hey, I board my horse on the property of the managers family, we rent the land and barn basically. Anyways, the property owners want to spray the weeds in the pasture to get rid of them. I am slightly concerned as I don't know if they are aware of the risks...

I heard that there were weed killers that you could use on pastures that were horse safe, is that true?

What precautions should I tell him to take? The biggest problems I can think of are most of the horses are outdoor board, there are not enough stalls to house them all, and there are no dirt lots. And I am also worried about him spraying on a windy day.

Is there anything else I should be worried about?

A lot of times you can talk to your County Extension Agent, it's part of the government that will be familiar with native weeds/ soils etc in your area and can even do nutrition evaluation of hay if you send it in. They would be able to suggest useful /harmful chemicals and other pasture management practices that would help the most.

If any chemicals HAVE been used before you get to check..usually waiting until after the first rain is a good measure. The water will dilute the chemicals, however, mowing is a better weed control measure if you going to put horses right on it, since they tend to be sensitive anyways. Many weed killers will also kill off your grass as well...just mow/bush hog the pasture, and suggest the County Extension Agent to them.

If he hasn't done it yet, he really needs to hold off till next year. Late winter early spring is the best time to attack the weeds in a pasture. That's when the nasty little buggers are just emerging and they are easier to kill. Plus you usually have some time for the herbacide to die down before you put livestock on it or bale it.
I missed my weed killing window this spring so I mow my pasture. I keep an eye on weed seed heads and mow before they have a chance to mature and spread. I just mow short enough to chop of the weed seed heads.

Feed lots of xtra hay so they don't graze as much

He needs to be very careful! Some of those weed killers are animal killers too! They must be kept off of the pasture for a period of time before it is safe for them to get back on it and graze.

Yes! There are horse safe weed killers. Check with your county ag office. The one we use in our area is called Grazeon PD. But, you have to have a special liscense to use it and even buy it. (Hubby has the liscense)

Even with the horse safe weed killers, I always keep mine off for a week just to be sure.

I agree with txhorsemom - - if it proclaims to be animal safe, I would wait at least 72-96 hours before they're allowed back on it (and it needs to be dry...so if it rains 72-96 hours after...i would wait longer)

Unfortuantely I don't think this will work, and will just lead to lots of wasted hay - horses will pick grass over hay most days. Sure, they might pick at it and eat some of it, but feeding extra will probably just lead to wasted hay.
The horses in my mare's pasture (which by this point just looks green - the grass is cropped down to almost nothing now) get hay morning and night, and there's still waste.

this is true.. but if you feed it in small amounts and often, and maybe minimise hard feed a little it does work.. but it would depend greatly on the weather pasture texture horses needs etc.