Bushes?
- Thread starter JBM
- Start date
Flowerofthefen
Well-Known Member
Looks like a laurel hedge which is not good for horses. Can't really see from photo. Bay laurel is ok but this looks like ' normal ' laurel.
JumpTheMoon1
Well-Known Member
The nasty barbed wire you have looks more lethal than the hedge.Tut tut.
Tiddlypom
Carries on creakily
That does like a laurel hedge, and as the above poster stated, laurel (except bay laurel) is toxic.
https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/laurel-hedge-guide.html
Is Laurel Hedging Poisonous?
We're no strangers to being asked if certain Laurel hedging and trees are poisonous to household pets or humans (particularly small children). ALL parts (leaves, berries etc.) of all Laurels, apart from Bay Laurel, are poisonous to livestock and animals. We have had no reports of children or pets being affected by the foliage of these hedging plants; in our experience they hold no real attraction, however it is best to avoid planting next to livestock. If you are concerned about your pets and children we’d recommend choosing Bay Laurel or looking at alternative hedge plants some of which are suggested below.
https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/laurel-hedge-guide.html
Is Laurel Hedging Poisonous?
We're no strangers to being asked if certain Laurel hedging and trees are poisonous to household pets or humans (particularly small children). ALL parts (leaves, berries etc.) of all Laurels, apart from Bay Laurel, are poisonous to livestock and animals. We have had no reports of children or pets being affected by the foliage of these hedging plants; in our experience they hold no real attraction, however it is best to avoid planting next to livestock. If you are concerned about your pets and children we’d recommend choosing Bay Laurel or looking at alternative hedge plants some of which are suggested below.
JBM
Well-Known Member
She seems to eat more of the brown leaved tree to be honest
They’re moving field tomorrow so shouldn’t be an issue hopefully then
They’re moving field tomorrow so shouldn’t be an issue hopefully then
stangs
Well-Known Member
Horses are designed to eat a variety of plants, that's why. That's how, in a natural environment, they make sure to get enough of different nutrients. Wild equids have access to vastly more plant species than your average domestic in a rye grass field.
Why domestic horses differ in what they choose to forage on is up for interpretation. It could be an act of zoopharmacognosy (though I very much doubt there's any medicinal benefit in laurel), and that she has a mineral imbalance he doesn't; could be that she grew up in a paddock with more variation in the plant species whereas he hasn't, so he's not interested in experimenting; could be that she's developed a taste for it and so on.
Why domestic horses differ in what they choose to forage on is up for interpretation. It could be an act of zoopharmacognosy (though I very much doubt there's any medicinal benefit in laurel), and that she has a mineral imbalance he doesn't; could be that she grew up in a paddock with more variation in the plant species whereas he hasn't, so he's not interested in experimenting; could be that she's developed a taste for it and so on.
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
Most of mine enjoy browsing the hedges and they sometimes get a taste for things they shouldn't eat really, i have one that likes oaks and my 2yo was keen on the bracken last year. We have a good variety of stuff to chomp on but i do try and steer them away from the things that aren't good for them.
PinkvSantaboots
Well-Known Member
Mine like the hawthorn bushes.
J&S
Well-Known Member
I went to a lecture the other day on Passive Therapy. Browsing (eating from hedges and trees) was discussed and noted as quite natural and good for their posture in general. Obviuosly not good to eat from poisonous bushes or trees though.
little_critter
Well-Known Member
The brown leaved tree looks like a copper beech.
ive not checked but I would suspect beech is ok. Agree that the laurel is a no-no and they should be fenced back from it.
Mine like a good nibble, they love hawthorn (will chew the bark too).
SEL
Well-Known Member
Horses are designed to eat more than grass. I think I read that at least 10% of their fibrous intake should come from trees / shrubs etc (I'd have to go googling to check) but we've tended to cut them off from access.
Mine will happily eat birch, beech, willow, hawthorn, blackthorn, horse chestnut, field maple and hornbeam. I have all of those around the field and apart from the blackthorn they are very neatly pruned by the horses. Laurel is poisonous but I was trying to expand your photo to see if your horses was eating it or something growing through it and it might be the latter. Those waxy leaves are hugely attractive but some horses get a taste for things they shouldn't
I personally would fence off laurel.
Mine will happily eat birch, beech, willow, hawthorn, blackthorn, horse chestnut, field maple and hornbeam. I have all of those around the field and apart from the blackthorn they are very neatly pruned by the horses. Laurel is poisonous but I was trying to expand your photo to see if your horses was eating it or something growing through it and it might be the latter. Those waxy leaves are hugely attractive but some horses get a taste for things they shouldn't
I personally would fence off laurel.
Muddy unicorn
Well-Known Member
I can see you’re making good use of your copy of ‘How to win friends and influence people’ …
Muddy unicorn
Well-Known Member
My ISH loves snacking on bushes - mostly hawthorn but he has been known to grab an oak leaf or two. It doesn’t matter how much grass there is in the field - I think he just likes the variety.
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
Yes mine love a bit of browsing. One loves to pick blackberries when they are out!
JBM
Well-Known Member
Oh never heard of that! Judy would probably love that and Barry would probably hurt himself on the thorns ?
Muddy unicorn
Well-Known Member
Mine loves blackberries too - he’s given me a couple of nasty moments when I’ve gone to the field to find splashes of blackberry juice on him - from a distance it looked like blood (he’s a very accident-prone light grey)
Dave's Mam
Well-Known Member
Dave loves a good hedge hoke. I am less fond of the injuries he causes to his face by going for those tasty morsels in thorny bushes.
JBM
Well-Known Member
There’s a good lot of everything in those bushes to be fair ? I’m moving them out of that field tomorrow so should be no problems but I don’t think they would eat it as they have been in that field a long time..but I’ll fence it off if I put them back in there (which is probable as that field has a run in shed)