What won't horses eat?

Last post 22-07-2009 10:19 PM by Digger. 12 replies.

• 22/02/2008 05:06 PM
  TTugby Location: Joined on: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 1	Reply | Contact I have a gardening friend whose house backs directly on to a horses paddock. Is their anything at all that could make a hedge and that the horses wont eat? Something obviously that wont kill the horse?

• 22/02/2008 05:14 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230

  Reply | Contact Your friend could plant prickly holly the horses won't eat that. Of course the horses will have a go at eating most things and if they do eat something that injures or makes them ill from your friends garden your friend would be liable. I think holly is a good solution because horses don't find it palatable and if the hedge is right up against the fence the horses will not bother to lean on the fence in order to get into the garden for other food stuff. My horse eaten two hanging baskets that were outside of the pub, he is a greedy beggar but he was just excercising his right of wayside forage. digger Sage of the fells

• 22/02/2008 05:42 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,766	Reply | Contact Electric fence: [url=http://www.countrystoredirect.com/acatalog/Electric_Fencing.html?gclid=COyM07Wr2JECFQ2VMAod0meYbQ]http://www.countrystoredirect.com/acatalog/Electric_Fencing.html?gclid=COyM07Wr2JECFQ2VMAod0meYbQ[/url] Horses are capable of eating the young shoots of anything - observe New Forest ponies... Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 22/02/2008 06:44 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230

  Reply | Contact Plant some holly that is already grown out of it's juvenile stage horses find spikey holly leaves un palateable, an electric fence is not always a good idea unless the horses owner is agreeable, just imagine if you did foolishly follow that advice without consulting the owner, and a horse receives a shock from the fence that may have a damaging effect to the horse.Lots of people give half baked amateur quack advice without having the remotest idea what they are talking about. I have many horses and they are a seriously expensive hobby, I would take exception if the owner of the neighbouring land erected an electric fence that could cause a shock to my horses without first consulting me. The onus is on the horses owner to keep them in the field not on your friend to keep them out. If there is no fence just a hedge then you could only legally erect the electric fence on your side of the hedge rendering it totally useless, because from the horses point of view the electric fence is on the other side of the hedge. If you went into the horse field and erected the fence ,you would of course be breaking the law. If you remove the hedge (if it's yours to remove) and then erect the electric fence, you run the risk of the electric fence breaking down over time and maybe the horses would then get access to the garden proper, and if it's you that removed the barrier (hedge) then you will be responsiblr for any damage to the garden or the horses. Consult the owners of the horses they may have a suggestion digger Sage of the fells

• 22/02/2008 09:35 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 9,465	Reply | Contact Hi TTugby, you could try using [url=http://rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/index.aspx]http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/index.aspx[/url] for some suggestions, if any plants are poisonous it will show up on the detailed page for each plant. sue1002

• 23/02/2008 10:47 AM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 4,540

  Reply | Contact I suggest you freind doesn't plant right on the edge of the property and protects the hedge with a fence (something that lets in light, but not horses heads) until the hedge is established. If the horses are hungry or bored they'll chew nearly anything. If it's a few outer leaves of a non poisonous plant no harm will be done, but if they can reach right to the main growing point of young plants the hedge won't stand a chance. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 23/02/2008 04:13 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230

  Reply | Contact George once pulled a full rose bush out of the ground, but he only ate the leaves. Horses are more likely to get bored if they are on their own or if they are stabled for long periods, when they are in the field they should have each others company to stop them from being bored. It all depends on the horses personality, we have a shetland pony who is full of devilment he will go all around the field testing the fence for any weakness, and he even got on his knees to get under a fence. We put slices of carrot and pony nuts up and down the filed to keep them busy. digger Sage of the fells

• 24/02/2008 07:22 PM

  In reply to

  Bog Myrtle Location: Southern Turkey Joined on: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 346

  Reply | Contact Digger's right, it depends on the horse. Before it departed for the Great Pasture in the Sky, we had Dad-in-Law's horse in the garden for nearly a year. He was a plough horse, and in Turkey they rather tend to tether everything, not letting beasts roam much at all. He was so pleased at being free that he didn't seem to ever get bored. Most of the time he just happily munched grass and wild flowers, but he did takes moods, when he'd lay his ears back, look you in the eye, and munch a plant to annoy you. He ate a whole peach tree once that way (though it was a young peach tree, so not very big). And whenever Dad-in-Law would come to take him out, to carry some load or other, he'd make a grab at a plant or two in passing, just to show his displeasure!

• 26/02/2008 08:35 PM

  In reply to

  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,766

  Reply | Contact I am not so sure that gardeners should take nonsense from horse owners. Horses may well be expensive, but if they were truly valuable I suggest that their owners would take steps to prevent their nags from damaging other people's property. Where I come from people fence their stock so they are not a nuisance to neighbours. An electric fence positioned within your property to give the ponies are sharp shock to protect your hedge while it grows seems entirely reasonable to me, although if the owner decides to avoid their steeds suffering this slight inconvenience by improving their fences so much the better. Electric fences are of course quite harmless to equines; horse owners regularly turn the countryside hideous by dividing up paddocks with white electric tape - however you don't have to do this as less obtrusive tapes can be bought. Just because people allow their horses to trespass on your property does not give you the right to harm the beasts of course but most reported cases of horse poisoning relate to wild plants rather than garden plants. You should of course be careful with yew and lupins - you might ask the horse owner to check your list of propspective plants with their horses vet. Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 26/02/2008 09:31 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230

  Reply | Contact Of course the onus is on the owner of the horses to keep them fenced in to their filed or turnout. Surprisingly where I come from horse owners also keep their horses fenced in. Of course you can erect an electric fence on your own property but if it is behind an existing hedge I cannot see it being much use, You say that electric fences are quite harmless to horses and equine owners turn the countryside hideous with white tape, white tape is erected in order that it can be easily seen by livestock, walkers/ ramblers and even trespassers. It is ridiculous to suggest that a sharp electric shock is quite harmless to a horse. that is far too general, it may be acceptable to use it with say a five year old native section d cob gelding, but quite inappropriate and even dangerous to use electric fence where a mare is in foal or where a young foal is recently weaned and turned out. That remark is nonsense, consult the owner before erecting a fence that could end up with legal proceedings against you for being negligent as to whether harm would occur to livestock, The white tape and sometimes yellow tape is not pretty, but with such a litigious society what can people do? Just imagine the first Joe Public to walk across someones field who fails to see an electric fence because it is coloured green to please the eye of the passer by. Far too many townies talk about issues regarding livestock when they should be fully aware of all the facts, erect the electric fence, take the advice that it is totally harmless to horses ,don't consult the owner first and then see what happens if you cause shock injury and distress to a mare that is heavily in foal or to a Stallion at turn out with mares, the owner of the horses will be quite entitled to sue you for damages which will be substantial should the worst happen. Yes poisoning of horses does occur from wild plants, but if you are aware that horses or any livestock is in the vicinity of where you intend to replant or whatever the onus is totally upon you to ensure that anything that you plant will not cause harm to the nearby livestock, as I suggested in the earlier post talk to the owner who may have a suggestion that is mutually agreeable, Bogweevils advice is flawed and dangerous digger Sage of the fells

• 13/04/2009 07:33 PM

  In reply to

  Stormsmith Location: Super! Natural! B. C. Joined on: 13 Apr 2009 Posts: 3

  Reply | Contact My horses have stripped the bark off of 3 mature holly trees 2 are regrowing from the bottom. On fencing: Give your local council a dingle, and ask what are the responsibilities of  fencing between two neighbours, when both are willing partners, or conversely, if only one will be the payer. Make sure to mention that there are horses involved, as fencing rules generally differ if livestock is a factor. Then talk with the neighbour. S/he may be willing to pay part of the bill, esp. if they want foal-proof fencing (helps to have a witness or contract), if not, you're probably going to pick up the tab. If your neighbour will let you, use offset electric fencing to keep the little devils 8 to 10 inches off the property line.Off set fencing is simply adding a  length of 2X4 and nailing it to each fence post, on an angle so it sticks out into the neighbours yard about 8-10 inches, and because its angled, you'll get 3 or so inchs of height in the bargain. If you're putting up more than one strand the lower lines can be secured the same way or with the plastic fence post clips, available for wood posts or steel t-posts. A fencer will last you eons. I have mine mounted near the back door. Hubby sank a 6 foot grounding rod, and I trenched about 1 foot deep from the fencer to the fence, ran regular household wire, one was like the stuff in the wire cord for a lamp or telly, the other was copper covered in plastic. The copper one goes from the fence to the grounding rod, about 6 feet if that, the other goes underground through the old hose (for extra protection)from the fence to the fence. These things are dead easy to figure out, once you see them and their booklet. The fencer makes a little beep noise, so you always know its working. Its surer than plants as a barrier (Most plants that an animal absolutely will not touch are poisonous - everything else they will  try if they're bored) and by mounting the fence on the house you can check on it regularly.

• 21/07/2009 09:56 PM	In reply to
  Surbiton Flowers Location: Surbiton Joined on: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 14	Reply | Contact they'll have a munch on most things to be honest Surbiton Flowers

• 22/07/2009 10:19 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230

  Reply | Contact Surbiton Flowers: they'll have a munch on most things to be honest   No sh1t you idiot!!! that was said right at the beginning of this thread, why do you even bother to write anything at all? you have contributed nothing at all to what is/was already discussed. I think you are making a token post here and there in order to try and fool people into thinking that you are interested in the forums etc.. when really you are just trying to promote your business, no one from this website will buy anything from you, because you are an underhanded scoundrel, abusing our forum for your own gain digger Sage of the fells