Conifer & Horses? ?

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mandk

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<font color="blue"> Looking to plant a hedge along the front of one of our paddocks. Want a very quick growing thick hedge.... Is Conifer poisonous to horses?

Have thought of hawthorn, but thorns can puncture sole of horses hooves.
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Dont know about conifer, but my whole field is surrounded by hawthorne and as long as you dont flay the hedge and leave the clippings in the field you should be ok...

The good thing about conifer being fast growing will soon be the bane of your life when you have to cut it twice a year to stop your field being cut off from all natural light
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do lots of research....i used to work at a riding school yrs ago and they felled 3 massive conifers into the ponies field and left em there,the ponies stripped the lot and all were fine,however i dont know if there are any long term implications,vet be the best person to ask
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conifer is poisonous but is a build up type poison - ie they have to eat it over a long period.

We have a conifer hedge and my lad will make a lunge for it given half an inch of leadrope - he loves it

Alot of people do use it as hedging for fields but a friend of mine lost a horse to is a few years ago - he'd been in a field with it for 5 years and as far as she knew only took a few mouthfuls.
 
'Conifer' is not a specific hedge. Conifer means 'cone bearing' and includes: cedars, douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, larches, pines, redwoods, spruces, and yews.
Many of these are trees and non-toxic. Some are trees and highly toxis e.g. yew. Some can be used for hedging.
You need to find out what species your potential hedge would be.
Hope this is helpful
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Lleylandi is possibly one being considered as it grows so fast. This IS toxic, although a long-term type, and horses seem to love them, so be careful with that.
 
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