Offered a field to graze beside me :) comes with a catch but...

I have been given an offer to graze Dealer in the field next to my house for the summer.
There are 2 donkeys that he has already met + gets along with and I will be able to see from from my bedroom. Lovely scenery to hack and good quiet roads.
Heres the catch! Its covered in buttercups about 1/2 of it is. No ragwort or anything, just buttercups -__-
I have talked to a few people about it and they said he should be fine he won't eat them because there bitter and itch.
What is my next course of action? Will pulling them out work?(just spent 3 hours doing it) or do I have to spray? The donkeys will have to stay in the field the whole time so nothing harmful to them. It doesnt bother the donkeys :/
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I personally wouldn't chance it. Most horses won't eat buttercups- but I've known a few who ignore the taste and go right on munching. I'd advise in asking the land owner if you can spray for them. Pulling them up won't help, they'll just grow back. Sounds like a nice offer though, otherwise! When I saw the thread I thought you'd say 'but they want to ride my horses for free' or something ^^

Okay thanks , he was in the field with the for about an hour and didn't seem to munch them. How much would an organic weedkiller be roughly?
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There not the creeping kind , they are the tall ones.
What if I strimmed or cut them down? How long would it be to they grow back? Is the whole plant poisinous or just the flower?
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I'm pretty sure the entire plant is harmful (the stems have a nasty sap).

Good luck getting rid of them... I don't really have any suggestions, unfortunately.

Any goat whisperers out there know if they are poisinous to them?
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The whole buttercup is poisonous, unfortunately. The stems produce a nasty sap that will make a horse's mouth, tounge, throat, and/or intestines swell if eaten. So the answer would be that you can try to just cut them down, but there is a large chance that they will grow back, or your horse might eat the stems unknowingly while grazing. They generally grow back within three weeks.

I have no idea how much an organic weed killer is, but I'm sure you could find out on the internet.

Also, buttercups are poisonous to goats, producing basically the same symptoms as in a horse or cow. The only difference is that a goat is more likely to ignore warning signs (stinging mouth, etc) and just keep on eating.

I do not know of a way to get rid of only the butter cups other than to make sure the pasture is properly maintained. They usually grow and spread best if the grass is allowed to be chewed down too far and things are not mowed enough.


If there is plenty of grass in the pasture elsewhere it is highly unlikely that your horse will even touch the buttercups.