After putting your horse's ,turnout rug on and letting them out in the field, checks for ragwort around the field should be made especially after news that councils have become lax about dealing with it.

A council in West Yorkshire has come under fire from local farmers and equestrians after they have failed to clear ragwort from public areas this year.

Ragwort is poisonous to horses and if enough is ingested, can lead to liver disease and death. If left untended, ragwort can quickly seed and spreads rapidly over large areas. The council's failure to uproot the ragwort this year could have undermined any previous progress made and will make it harder to keep ragwort out of fields used by horses and other livestock.

Although horses generally avoid the plant, if it gets into hay or there is limited grazing, they can easily eat it accidentally.

A Yorkshire sheep farmer, who also owns six horses, claims ragwort from nearby public land is contaminating his farm. Although he has been uprooting the plant, ragwort from nearby public land has been spreading into his fields.

"They were beginning to make inroads, but if they don't clear every year we will be back to square one" the farmer said.

Kirkless Council admitted stalling the clearing of the injurious weed but defended their actions by saying the clearance made "no noticeable difference" to ragwort levels and verges are now "cut on request."

Yorkshire based showjumper John Whitaker said; "Ragwort is certainly a problem. I haven't noticed it's ever really been cleared, but I would welcome it if it was."

Checking for ragwort should become as second nature as putting on your horse's stable rug or turnout rug turnout rug.