Monty Roberts Equus Online University | Monty's Horse Training Post: Getting rid of yellow rattle

Learn all about Equus • Dually Halter • Shy Boy Mustang • Jumping Horses
• Story of a Horse Whisperer • Riding Horsemanship • Dressage Horses • Willing Partners
• Horse Training • Round Pen Lessons • Performance Horses • Join-Up

Watch Monty's horse training videos to learn how he demonstrates communication through horse training techniques that the amateur and professional alike consider to be the trainable skills of a horse whisperer yet Monty calls it horse gentling.
Monty's horse training techniques are non violent with intelligent natural horsemanship. In addition to video instructions, Monty has written many books related to natural horsemanship. Monty trains safe horses for nervous riders called Willing Partners. Monty trains world class race horses for sale.
“I am very proud to be a part of Her Majesty’s horse training and her passion for their welfare. I believe she is the leading monarch for the advocacy of horses in the world. She is a thought leader in this field. Her Majesty's horses are trained using the Dually Halter, making a difference in the training of sensitive animals by giving the horse the choice to partner in the training.” ~ Monty
“I communicate with a horse in what I call the Language of Equus; a silent language of gestures that is discernible, predictable and effective. Now you can learn from my videos, audio and notes to help you understand the horse as I do. This language is really quite simple, but simplicity becomes its greatest strength.” ~ Monty
Monty Roberts is a renowned horse trainer known as the man who listens to horses and the original horse whisperer. Monty's horse training instructions are accepted worldwide.
Monty has helped thousands of people globally through his Monty Roberts Online Videos to learn how to Join-Up with horses, training young horses, spooky horses, horses that bite. His mustang , Shy Boy , is his most famous horse.
Join-Up methods help horse and trainer to establish a bond of communication and trust. “You must somehow understand that we as horsemen can do very little to teach the horse. What we can do is to create an environment in which he can learn.” ~ Monty
Monty says, “We hear that ‘actions speak louder than words,’ but generally we do not live by it too successfully.” Now Monty has taught thousands of people worldwide how to build trust in animals through our actions and body language.
Monty’s principles really amount to common sense and immense patience. He believes that children and horses have the same behavioral patterns. They are both naturally “flight” animals. "If you frighten them and resort to confrontation, you’ll lose their trust." ~ Monty
"Simple one-on-one reassurances and praise reap long term dividends that can all be undone with the quick slamming of a book on a desk or shouting back." ~ Monty Roberts
"No one of us was born with the right to say 'You must or I'll hurt you' to any other living thing, animal or human". ~ Monty Roberts
"My life's goal is to leave the world a better place than I found it, for horses and for people too". ~ Monty Roberts

← back

Horse Care and Comfort

Getting rid of yellow rattle

By:

beryl

Date:

2013-Aug-15 at 08:31AM

Does anyone one have any experience of getting rid of yellow rattle in their pasture & hay fields?
Mine has become overrun with it & it's parasitic nature stops the grass growing.

vicci - UK (North Wales) 2013-Aug-17 at 08:08AM

What is yellow rattle? Is it what we in UK call ragwort?

Kicki -- Sweden 2013-Aug-17 at 08:47PM

This is Yellow Rattle:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinanthus_minor
.
They don't stop the grass from growing but do stops them from being so vigorous. Best (only?) way to stop them is to cut down the field before they seed. Generally before July/August.
.
You can also try planting more wild flowers in the field to keep the Rattle under control, but I'm gussing it's the grass you want in there, rather than more flowers. (Although hay with lots of herbs in it is almost always a good thing.)
.
In Sweden, the Rattle is called Hay Rattle because in the olden days they said that when the Hay Rattle rattles (the seeds do rattle in their "pods") it is time to bring in the hay.

Kicki -- Sweden 2013-Aug-17 at 08:47PM

"Guessing" - not "gussing"!

vicci - UK (North Wales) 2013-Aug-18 at 02:33PM

http://ihdg.proboards.com/thread/115003

Some useful info here too. I know little about this plant but it seems to me that it terms of ecology its very useful and good be a way stopping horses eating too much grass! (one of the problems I have with a Section A) - it is not listed as a plant harmful to equines from what I can see. However, if you are wanting a hay field/lots of grass then I can see why you want rid.

beryl 2013-Aug-25 at 01:48PM

Yes, it is stopping the grass from growing so much now it's spread over the entire field, there is VERY LITTLE GRASS at all, it's full of herbs such as common plantain which i know is a very good antiinflamatory, yarrow, vetch & Lord knows what else, that's great BUT it's not great when it's got so bad there's no grass!!!
As it's a hay crop, i can't cut it before it seeds.
Thanks for the links, very useful!
the long very cold spring would seem to have helped it seed enormously!
think i'll have to do a soil test or two, but it is a mix of mostly clay, which is meant to be fertile with a small strip of chalk which is less productive.
Fertilize or lime seems to be recommended, but mine are both laminitic too & live on a small paddock with restricted turnout twice a day, so will have to fertilize the hat part next spring once it's shut up i guess - it's worth a try before spraying it which i'm not keen on.
Thanks again for all your comments.

beryl 2013-Aug-25 at 01:50PM

meant hay part, not hat part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!