How to Remove Burrs From Horses

The burrs and grooming products can be irritating to your hands, so keep a good pair of gloves for this job. A close-fitting pair of rubberized gardening gloves can offer enough dexterity while protecting your hands

Getting Rid of Burr Plants

Once you’ve cleaned all the burrs from your horse, make sure you dispose of them where they won’t sprout. Dumping them on the manure pile or sweeping them out the barn door might land you with a crop of burrs right next to your barn. Don’t put them in a composter either. Instead, throw them in the garbage, or burn them on your next bonfire.

To avoid having to pull burrs again, you’ll need to eradicate the weeds from your paddocks and pastures. The common burdock is a biennial. It grows leaves and roots its first year, and it flowers and goes to seed in its second year before it dies.

There are two times when you can cut down burdock to stop its growth. Early in the spring, use a sharp spade to chop the first leaves popping up at soil level. This should kill the plant. But if the plant already has leaves, cut it down just as it begins to flower. This way, the plant thinks it has produced seeds and shouldn't grow again. If you cut down the plant before it flowers, it will attempt to come back and flower the following year.

You can try chemical herbicides, but these need to be used with great care in horse pastures. Horses typically must be kept away from any sprayed areas until the herbicide is dry.