# Horse eating my trees HELP



## Painteddreamfarm (Sep 18, 2008)

Is there anything I can put on my trees to keep the horses from eating them. I mean they are litterally stripping them clean... and I have a lot of trees.... I mean alot and its the reason we got this property.... but not one tree doesnt have a eating spot... and they have continuious hay... and are fat so its not like they are hungry!!!


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## NicoleS11 (Nov 21, 2008)

what kind of tree's are they? we had a mare die becuase she ate birch bark off of all of our trees....i went to feed in the morning and she was gone...and the autopsy showed she died from eating the bark...i would be carefull...that wasnt fun! she was my fav mare!


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

My horses like to chew on trees, "just 'cause" lol. We put some electro-braid hot rope up around the trees (all are clumped in one spot) to keep them out of the area (we already have electro-braid, we just spliced more in to the perimiter fence).

If your trees are spread out, then the best thing you can do is to wrap the trunks in chicken wire. You'll need to re-do it every so often, so the tree doesn't grow over the chicken wire.


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

they are actually after the sap that is in the bark at this time of year... which is basically PURE sugar , years ago I had a horse that went CRAZY this time of year ... looking at it now I know why LOL


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## county (Nov 29, 2008)

I've had 100's of horses and we have a couple hundred acres of pasture and trees and never had a horse chew a tree. I think when they do its one of two reasons. Boredom or lack of a mineral or via. Do you have a salt block plus a mineral block or loose salt and minerals free choice?


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I posted something about this last winter :lol: I spent a good part of the summer cutting down dead trees that were killed by my horses eating the bark off. Mine have good hay, mineral and salt blocks they are all happy and healthy plus plenty of room to roam around. I finally wrapped the remaining trees in wire fence material. Chicken wire will work fine. Next time plant evergreens, they don't seem to be interested in the pines or cedars, I notice they don't eat a mulberry tree bark either. I think its just certain trees. 
Do it sooner than later. The more bark they strip off the more likely you will lose the tree.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Yup, my horses have (some) room to roam, plenty of hay (I feed hay 3 times a day, 25-30 lbs each horse), the have a mineral salt block, and I give them a vit/mineral supplement. I think mine are somewhat bored. Their pasture is only about 0.75 acre and we only get them out 1-2 times a week right now.


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## sempre_cantando (May 9, 2008)

I suspect its often boredom, as others have said. My mare only chews on trees when she's yarded, never when she's turned out.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

My horses will nibble for sure -- especially poplar and, yes evergreens -- the spruce and balsam. All three of these trees I know have nutrient or mineral or something or other value in them. I can't remember what it is in each, but they're all different. I have always experienced horses doing the tree munch. Years ago, our horses roamed on 25 acres of bush and field. They still ate the trees! As long as it's not maple or oak, I don't worry about it. But, I have LOTS of trees!


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## Painteddreamfarm (Sep 18, 2008)

northernmama said:


> My horses will nibble for sure -- especially poplar and, yes evergreens -- the spruce and balsam. All three of these trees I know have nutrient or mineral or something or other value in them. I can't remember what it is in each, but they're all different. I have always experienced horses doing the tree munch. Years ago, our horses roamed on 25 acres of bush and field. They still ate the trees! As long as it's not maple or oak, I don't worry about it. But, I have LOTS of trees!


 
They are eating the maple and oak trees....


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Hmmm... that would concern me if they are eating a lot... I would check with your vet to see if (s)he forsees possible toxicity issues. You may have to wrap them or put obstacles around them or something.


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## Painteddreamfarm (Sep 18, 2008)

They have been eating them nonstop for months now and they are not doing anything odd.....other than from the ordinary. ;-) but We are puting fences around the trees as we dont want them all to die!!!


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Painteddreamfarm said:


> Is there anything I can put on my trees to keep the horses from eating them. I mean they are litterally stripping them clean... and I have a lot of trees.... I mean alot and its the reason we got this property.... but not one tree doesnt have a eating spot... and they have continuious hay... and are fat so its not like they are hungry!!!


We have a lot of trees here as well but I'm afraid that unless you fence out that area with the trees there isn't much you can do. If you can add a line of fencing directly in front of the tress you are trying to save or around the set. A lot of time they do it out of boredom which is what ends up killing them.


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## minihorse927 (Aug 11, 2008)

I know this requires a lot of time and a lot of product, but rubbing ivory soap bars up and down the area they chew on stops them instantly, until it wears off, which is the problem with it. It can work as a temporary fix until you can get something more permanent though.


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## Helenmcd (Dec 26, 2008)

mine eat bark too, i think they like the moss. they copied my donkey who is a devil for trees. I only have a few trees so I watered down a mixture of mustard and pepper and sprayed it on the lower parts, and it seems to work.


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## clasymover (Dec 28, 2008)

Even if the horses get fed 4x a day they are still without food in between because they wolf those feedings then are bored inbetween. My horses were eating our oaks... not good. We put chicken wire around them and they pushed it up to eat around the bases... not good. Then we made some restricted free choice feeders where the horses have to work to get the food through 2x2 welded wire grids. The result is that the forage takes much longer to eat, fat horses lost weight, thin horses gained weight, they aren't bored and voila no more eating the trees. You can go to Home of Easy Feeding for some ideas on how to make these feeders.


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