Thistle infestation in pasture?

Question

I have some sort o thistle infestation in my pasture, it gets worse every year.

It's not the prickly kind, it's the long stemmed kind with a purple ball flower and lot of small cylindrical leaves branching off of it.

How can I get rid of it in a way that is horse friendly? It's cutting down on the amount of grass that's growing.

Answer 1

you need to pull/cut it before it flowers...so it doesn't go to seed...so it won't get worse each year...

If it's not prickly - pull it out!  It's a chore - but your ponies, and your pasture will thank you!

Answer 2

You must cut it down before it produces new seed.

Answer 3

You'll need to spray that thistle...Horses will not touch them and the spray dries quickly.   I deal with that thistle every year.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/this...

http://www.ibiblio.org/farming-connectio...

Answer 4

You need to take the horses off it for 6 weeks or so and get it sprayed.

Just did mine this year for the same reason.

Answer 5

Thistles are a noxious weed and a real pain in the neck.  You can pull all you want, but the little buggers just keep coming back.  I strongly recommend that you spray.....Round-up works for some thistles, Weedmaster works on others.  You'll probably want to take your horses out of the pasture when you spray.  They can go back in after a couple of weeks.  Good luck getting rid of them!