Burrs

[Zipper]

If you have tails that are so full of burrs to try to comb them out and you cut them off how long does it take for the

tails to grow back in?

 

[ohmt]

Our mares get themselves completely covered in burrs and we have never ever had to cut a mane or tail. My grandmother would probably kill me if I did. Baby oil, show sheen, wd40 are all excellent products to remove burrs. Use gloves and start at the bottom and start separating hairs very small sections at a time. As you work your way up it gets easier and easier. It is time consuming at first, but doesn't take too long once you get the hang of it (I usually have to remove burrs from my mares 3x a year and I have 20+ of them. The burrs get so bad there are no 'loose' hairs).

As for your question, I have no idea how long it takes a tail to grow back. It would depend on how short it was cut and then I have found each horse has different 'growth rates'. I would guess at a year or more.

 

[Lizzie]

I think some horses grow hair faster than others, so it would be difficult to tell. I once saw a large breed horse with a tail completely embedded in burrs. It amazed me that anyone would let a horse become in that condition.

I presume these burrs are from a type of plant/weeds seen mostly in the north? Clearing pasture of the offenders would probably do the trick. I don't think I've ever actually seen the plant.

Lizzie

 

[ohmt]

Yes, clearing pastures would do the trick, unfortunately it is much easier said than done! The burrs are the seeds, so they spread like wildfire and they are very hardy plants so you have to dig them up or burn them. Burning is a no no here and digging takes a LONG time and if you miss just a couple of plants, you've got hundreds more later.

My horses have 40 acres to eat on and the majority of it does not have burrs. They just always seem to find a place with a patch of burrs to eat in and then get covered. We do our best to get them out and make sure the mares are not uncomfortable. It literally only takes them an hour to get completely covered in the burrs-SO I do not appreciate when people are quick to judge when they see burrs. My horses are well fed, loved, and well taken care of. Heck I spend a fortune on show sheen to remove burrs and a lot of time to make sure I don't pull or break their hair.

 

[Minimor]

Try the show sheen gel, it's the best stuff I've found for removing tangles from mane & tail, and I suspect it would work really well on burrs.

For anyone that cannot imagine letting tails get completely packed with burrs--I will say this--count yourself lucky that you do not have burdock in your pastures, because once burdock gets a hold, it's extremely difficult to get rid of! As said, you must dig it out or burn it off--and when you dig/cut out the plants, you'd best burn them right there so they won't spread any more seeds. Once you've got one burdock plant in your pasture you've probably got 100 of them--nasty, nasty, nasty things. If you remove them all this year don't be thinking they are gone--because there could be new ones growing next year!

Last year I picked up a few bales of hay from a place a few miles away--I wanted to try the hay & if we liked it I'd go and get more. Well, after one feeding I found a stem of burdock--with plenty of burrs--stuck to one horse's leg. The burdock had to have been in that hay, there was no other way for it to have gotten into that corral & stuck to that horse's leg. I did not go & get any more hay, because we did not want that stuff on our property. I pulled the burrs off the horse and burned them.

 

[Lori W]

We get them all the time in our neck of the woods, too. I put burdocks right up there with mosquitos... wondering why they even have a purpose!

If you haven't already, don't cut the tail or mane - you can get the burrs out! Patience and gentle handling (and a silicone based product like ShowSheen) is what it takes. Spray it on, let it dry, then take a wide tooth comb or hoof pick and start gently at the bottom, prying the hairs apart and the burrs out, and work your way up. It does get easier as you go. I've had to do tails that were packed with burrs so bad that they were stiff with them. Once you get them out, spray some ShowSheen on the mane and tail every couple of days to keep the burrs from sticking (and making it easier to remove them if they do) until you can deal with the burdock plants as best you can. I also recommend rubber gloves, since the little barbs will stick to you and work their way under your skin.

If you have cut the tail, try Shapely's M-T-G. Stinky stuff, so wear rubber gloves when you put it on, but it works wonders. I don't know how long it will take to grow a tail back, but it will help.

Good luck!

 

[sfmini]

It would take years to get the tail back. No way would I cut them, I use Cowboy Magic for burrs and also dreadlocks in the manes.

 

[Zipper]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I am using Show Sheen and havent cut any tails off yet.

These horses were bought with the burrs and the manes, tails and forelocks are so full

they dont have any loose hair at all.

It is sad. I have never seen anything this bad before and the foals have them all over

in their fur on their body.

 

[Lizzie]

I apologise if I was quick to judge, those who have burrs in their horses manes and tails. Having never had or seen them, I had to do a bit of research. Apparently the plants (and there are many) which produce such things, generally like wetter areas. I'm surprised I never saw them in England. Never seen them here in the SW US. On some agricultural websites, it said something which might be helpful to those with these weeds in their pastures. Apparently they are annuals. However, if one year the pasture is mowed down, before they go to seed, they obviously won't seed and forum new plants that year and also won't the next year. The year after though, one must mow again to stop reseeding. So if one mows every other year before they go to seed, then new plants will not form. I did see in one site, that the prickly parts after separation, can get into animal's eyes and ears and cause some major problems. It did say to fence off different areas and spray or dig up plants in other areas and then rotate animals. Spraying will kill the weeds but of course the owners would have to wait some time before putting animals back in that area.

We are always wishing we had pasture here in California, but sometimes maybe we are lucky and only have to clear Fiddleneck and a few other weeds, most of the time.

Lizzie

 

[Lizzie]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I am using Show Sheen and havent cut any tails off yet.

These horses were bought with the burrs and the manes, tails and forelocks are so full

they dont have any loose hair at all.

It is sad. I have never seen anything this bad before and the foals have them all over

in their fur on their body.

Just saw your post Zipper. In my research, it did say to take all the burrs off in a safe place, sweep up every one carefully and dispose of carefully. This way you won't have new plants popping up where you never had them before.

Lizzie

 

[targetsmom]

We have some in our pasture but they seem to hide from people and only find the horses on rare occasions when they come in with manes and tails plastered with them. But that isn't the only place they get them as our dry-lotted horses also show up sometimes with burrs in their manes or tails, which had to have come from their HAY! It is pretty obvious when they go to bed with clean manes/tails and come out of their stalls the next morning with burrs in them. But again, checking the hay carefully doesn't seem to find them. I measure the hay for each mini separately so you would think I would see the burrs, but I almost never do.

And yes, you have to be very careful when you dispose of the burrs that you remove.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

We had burdock in PA and I HATED them! I think I was allergic to whatever they had on them, my hands would turn red and itch like crazy! And my horses would come in COVERED in them!

Fortunately here in TX we don't have those. We do have some kind of burr but they are MUCH easier to get out and don't shred as you try. I think the drought killed them, though, as I haven't seen any on my guys yet (knock on wood). Last year was pretty bad.

I do work my way up from the bottom and use plenty of Show Sheen!

 

[ohmt]

We tried fencing off, but the seeds blow around. We have sprayed, but once again, if you don't get them all it doesn't do any good. They resemble a lot of other weeds when they are young and then it's hard to find them all on 40 acres. We also have shelter belts surrounding our farm and have planted a lot of trees in the pastures over the years so mowing doesn't do much either. We mow the grassy areas periodically throughout the summer for the mares, but the burrs are not in those areas, they are in the wooded areas. We always go around and dig up the ones we find in the spring and also any we come across when they mature, but the mares always find more lol. We live with it. Yes, the burrs can cause problems if left for a while which is why we take them out when we see the mares have gotten into them.

 

[Zipper]

Just saw your post Zipper. In my research, it did say to take all the burrs off in a safe place, sweep up every one carefully and dispose of carefully. This way you won't have new plants popping up where you never had them before.

Lizzie

Thanks Lizzie, never thought it would matter how you dispose of them so I will burn them.

 

[Reble]

baby oil and a wired dog brush works great...good luck

 

[Minimor]

However, if one year the pasture is mowed down, before they go to seed, they obviously won't seed and forum new plants that year and also won't the next year. The year after though, one must mow again to stop reseeding. So if one mows every other year before they go to seed, then new plants will not form.

Mowing is easy enough if it's all open pasture land, but many of the pastures that are the worst for burdock have trees and bush--and burdock flourishes amongst trees and in the bush. Many people do not want to bulldoze the trees down and so mowing isn't an option in those pastures.
On the plus side, almost the entire burdock plant is edible, from the leaf stems to the taproot--one could harvest the burdock & clear the pastures while collecting a food source.

Personally I've never tried the stuff and don't intend to--to me, the plant just doesn't look appetizing!

 

[Lindi-loo]

Oh Im reading this with great interest as when I called the ponies in last night all I see are BURRS

I dont know what my boy had been doing all day but im sure he went looking for BURRS to add to his already huge collection

Iv never seen so many in one mane..yesterday he had a lovely long thick mane today its just a mass of these awfull things..its going to take me hours to get them out

..Iv looked all over for the offending article/s but I cant find a single one where did he get them from its a mistery but I know what Im going to be doing today

 

couldnt resist showing you..its both sides too

 

 

tut tut

 

 

[Lori W]

Someone made a good point - please take care when working on burrs in forelocks or on the face. If the little barbs get into the horse's eyes, it's extremely irritating and can even be damaging. Try to pull the burrs out well away from their eyes.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

Yes, clearing pastures would do the trick, unfortunately it is much easier said than done! The burrs are the seeds, so they spread like wildfire and they are very hardy plants so you have to dig them up or burn them. Burning is a no no here and digging takes a LONG time and if you miss just a couple of plants, you've got hundreds more later.

My horses have 40 acres to eat on and the majority of it does not have burrs. They just always seem to find a place with a patch of burrs to eat in and then get covered. We do our best to get them out and make sure the mares are not uncomfortable. It literally only takes them an hour to get completely covered in the burrs-SO I do not appreciate when people are quick to judge when they see burrs. My horses are well fed, loved, and well taken care of. Heck I spend a fortune on show sheen to remove burrs and a lot of time to make sure I don't pull or break their hair.

I sympathize with the burdock, thistle and other noxious weeds thing. It has been a problem for me and my clients.

I have tried sprays, shovels, and burning. None have worked particularly well. I have since gone to mowing and I encourage my clients to do it also and I have found this works better than any other system. In our Northern Midwest climate I suggest mowing 'every holiday', for us that is Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Mowing at these intervals will cut down the plant before it is able to go to seed thus reducing not only spread, but also the nasty bits we don't like to see in our manes and tails. As most weeds reproduce yearly via seeds, eventually the plants will be gone also. This has been the easiest, most cost conservative and successful approach for me and my clients.

Dr Taylor

 

[Chelley]

OH MY GOODNESS!!! What a mess! I wouldn't know where to start either...

Oh Im reading this with great interest as when I called the ponies in last night all I see are BURRS

I dont know what my boy had been doing all day but im sure he went looking for BURRS to add to his already huge collection

Iv never seen so many in one mane..yesterday he had a lovely long thick mane today its just a mass of these awfull things..its going to take me hours to get them out

..Iv looked all over for the offending article/s but I cant find a single one where did he get them from its a mistery but I know what Im going to be doing today

 

couldnt resist showing you..its both sides too

 

 

tut tut