Help with buttercups....that are sure to grow in my pastures

[Trophyduck]

Hello, new here.....from Eastern Shore Maryland
I have a couple horse pastures. Both are roughly 5 acres and have a few horses on each. It is planted in grass and clover but slowly being overtakes with weeds. I tried overseeding last year but it didn't do too well. One of my BIG problems is the Buttercups. I have heard that if you have horse pastures, you have buttercups. period. Well I guess they're right if you look at ours but they're has to be a way to help control them. I have tried to keep the mowed and keep the flowers down but it just makes them flower on shorter stalks.
I think Pasture Pro is supposed to be good for them but not sure how it will affect the "good" plants. Is there anything that just attacks the buttercups or will the clover be killed too?
Any help or thoughts is appreciated. THANKS!

 

[FarmHand]

Yes the buttercups love compacted soil which horses will cause. To my knowledge there's no easy solution to buttercups because even if you till, weeds are going to survive and eventually come back.

 

[Breadtrk]

Are they hurting anything? The horses will eat then too, most of the weeds even with no ill effects.... So why put chemicals in the ground your horses have to eat from?

 

[Smarty Plants]

Are they hurting anything?

Normally horses will leave them alone because they aren't tasty to them. But yeah, buttercups can cause problems because the stem and leaves contain a toxic oil. I don't think it will kill them necessarily, but it makes them pretty sick and can blister their mouths if they eat enough of them. I'd still leave the buttercups alone because they're good for pollinators and most horses won't bother them so long as they have more appealing things to graze on. It seems like a waste of money and time to try to eradicate them.

 

[Trophyduck]

But there are SO many of them that they seem to be overtaking the good. It hasn't happened to our horses yet but the last person who had their horses grazing there got blisters. I was hoping there was a way to keep them controlled somewhat.......However when it gets HOT they "go away".

 

[Breadtrk]

Since buttercups and horses have been around since the dawn of man and I've yet to see one with a blistered mouth, I'll have to figure those were stupid horses.

 

[Amanda]

One person's useful plant is another person's weed, so I understand where you're coming from Trophyduck. Some people love clover, but it's a hard to kill weed in my neck of the woods. Do you know what type of buttercup you're dealing with by chance? If it's one of the annual varieties, keeping it mowed up before the seeds can set should help. It won't make a bit of difference if it's one of the creeping varieties that spreads through its roots though. You can use a herbicide, but you'll have to pasture your horses elsewhere for a while. After that plant something that grows quickly that will smother any buttercups that try it again. Augustine grass is pretty good for that if you live in a warm zone.

Since buttercups and horses have been around since the dawn of man and I've yet to see one with a blistered mouth, I'll have to figure those were stupid horses.

Or maybe there was nothing else to graze on. I don't think the blisters happen immediately with the first bite. I've had some animals who were wonderfully sweet, but maybe a little lacking in the common sense department, so I guess that's possible too.

 

[Trophyduck]

I'm just wondering if there were just so many that in getting the good food they couldn't help but get some BCs in their mouth?
I have been mowing the S@#@ out of them to try and stay ahead of them......seems to help a little but just hoping there was a better answer.
Amanda, I don't know what type it is.....I don't think it is the creeping variety but to be honest, I didn't know there were differences and haven't checked it out

 

[Trophyduck]

oh, and another added question......are goats dumb enough to eat them? We have 2 we let run around the pasture too and wondered if will hurt them. Up until now they have been penned.
Some history......the horses were put out there before the goats showed up.

 

[japody]

2,4-d will keep the buttercups down but not eliminate them. You do not have to remove horses from pastures after applying 2, 4-d. Apply in early spring when they first start appearing. Read label for application rates.