Hedging- paddocks

silvershadow81

silvershadow81

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Just wondered what the best type of hedging would be for paddocks.

Want something which is a little thorny for security, but obviously not poisonous?

Something quick growing too, if possible?!

Thought about Blackthorn but wanted to see what people thought and what other alternatives we could consider?

Thanks
 
at some stage when it has grown your blackthorn hedge will need trimming. Most trimming methods will leave cut blackthorn on your paddock. Best with blackthorn to get your abscess poulticing kit ready. I speak from experience of having a lot of blackthorn hedges I cannot really change.
It would be better to find something else, beech ad hawthorn would be nice and a lot easier.
 
yeah, wouldn't opt for blackthorn-actually thought one of the ponies had strangles at one point but it was a blackthorn abscess under his jaw.

holly is relatively slow growing if you are wanting a quick hedge-also, as an evergreen is toxic to horses (and same pony would try and eat it lol).
 
We have mainly hawthorn with some holly bushes snd gorse mixed in. The holly gives the ponies great shelter all year round. I wouldn't chose to have the gorse in there snd it's kept well under control.
 
We bought a hedge mix, which has Hawthorne, gelder rose, few blackthorn and something else i can't remember. Its been okay so far, rose grows very well, blackthorn slow, 4/5 years on, and were getting close to being able to lay it.
Did buy some holly separately but its very slow growing and the ponies / next door cows liked it too much!
 
Willow is quick growing and intrusive probably not into your paddock as the ponies will eat it but everywhere else lol. A proper mix of hawthorn, roses, beech, crab apple etc is probably best for year round shelter. I wouldnt use blackthorn either due to its nasty infecting thorns
 
If you contact the Woodland Trust you can buy hedge packs from them that have mixed species that are more wildlife friendly. Their hedge pack contains dogrose, hawthorn, hazel, crab apple and dogwood. We were able to get fee hedging from them to supply our community garden with a hedge and the plants we got were great and are growing well 3 years on, we lost very few.
 
Not blackthorn, it killed a pony of someone I know. A deeply embedded thorn ended up with abscessing, muscle wastage and eventually being PTS.
 
windand rain said:
Willow is quick growing and intrusive probably not into your paddock as the ponies will eat it but everywhere else lol. A proper mix of hawthorn, roses, beech, crab apple etc is probably best for year round shelter. I wouldnt use blackthorn either due to its nasty infecting thorns
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Sorry wouldn't suggest crab apple, due to possible colic - would suggest Hawthorn
 
Hawthorn is excellent - grows relatively quickly and spreads out as well as up so as to form a dense hedge. Hazel just tends to go up and is far too tempting for the horses to eat and holly grows very slowly, from my experience.
 
Abby-Lou said:
Sorry wouldn't suggest crab apple, due to possible colic - would suggest Hawthorn
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I don't know if a crab apple hedge would eventually grow crab apples but our crab apple tree did and deposited them over the grazing where the horses could eat them so it had to come down.

If you want to use things like hazel and willow then run a strand of electric fencing along. All our field walls with hedges on have a strand of electric fencing and it protects them against the horses eating out the hedge. Whatever you plant you may well need to fence it to protect it.
 
Wonderful, thank you all so much. Think Hawthorn is coming out top, but like the idea of the mixes.
Glad I asked and moved away from Blackthorn.

Thanks again, really appreciate it :-)
 
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