dock leaf infestation

[tazio]

is there a domestic animal that would live with 5 horses and eat dock leaves, maybe some kind of goat or sheep our 20 acre paddock is over run with tem?

[heathfield]

Cattle, goats, sheep, and deer will all graze on dock leaves, but horses won't. Otherwise, it's a case of pulling them up - and dock seeds can germinate after 60 years. (Ooo-er!). There's a site that'll tell you more than you'll ever need to know about them here

[Catso]

Docks are really a ***** nuisance in pasture. Really difficult to get rid of once they get a foothold. As heathfield said, their seeds can suddenly sprout after years. A nearby farmer once virtually lost an entire field to docks. He had to spray it with strong kill-everything weedkiller, plough and reseed with grass. Even then, some came back. I think he then sprayed with a selective weedkiller and he does now have his field back. Of course, this means you'll 'lose' your field while all this is underway.

I keep them in check in my paddock with glyphosphate(?) weedkiller EG Roundup. It is reasonably environmentally friendly in that it only kill anything green it touches, and becomes harmless once it hits the soil. I go around with a little handheld sprayer and zap the docks individually. Though if you've got to the stage of 'overrun' it's probably too late for this approach!

[yambu]

Alpacas will eat dock. They're friendly, often kept as pets, can't bite you and produce amazing wool. Whatever animals you choose, it'd be best to put them in after the horses have had first pick at least, because they won't eat the dock right away with loads of other stuff to choose from.

This site is from Ireland so probably you won't be buying from them, but they do show how lovely the animals are and have lots of good info:
http://www.alpacas.ie/

Rabbits and chickens will both eat dock. You could use a chicken tractor system if you don't want them running everywhere, that's just a moveable pen that you move across the field incrementally. They'll fertilize the ground nicely too. Here's an example that's small, but it can be as big as you like:
http://www.wildernesscollege.com/chicken-tractor.html

Roundup (and anything with glyphosate) is extremely toxic to humans even in tiny quantities, harmful to bees and other animals. It is only allowed because there is a revolving door between monsanto executives and government ministers in charge of regulations.
see
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/30/glyphosate-toxicity.aspx
and
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/weed-whacking-herbicide-p/
This article has more on how it works, showing then how it is damaging especially to our guts:
http://www.naturalnews.com/041464_glyphosate_monsanto_toxicity.html