Oak Trees in new field - Worried - should I still move....???

C

cavalier123

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 December 2010
Messages
286
Visit site
Hi All, I am in the process of moving to a new field all of my own, but it has 4 Oak trees along one edge, within the hedge and i know they can be poisonous if horses eat large quantities of acorns/leaves. I understand they can be fenced off, but is that all year round of just certain months, my field isn't that big and can't afford to loose too much space - can anyone confirm when they should be fenced off please? Many thanks!
(duplicate as posted in introductions by mistake...)
 
they'll need fencing off in autumn when the acorns drop-they won't produce masses every year, especially if not very big/old (google mast years). I had a field with a 350 yo oak in and only had one bad year although I leccy taped it off every year.
 
My friend had a problem with one horse eating acorns but the rest ignored them. It is the acorns are what cause the problems. I scoop the ones in my field up, as the fall straight down you can fence them off and get rid of them. Although if there is enough to eat they should leave them be.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
they'll need fencing off in autumn when the acorns drop-they won't produce masses every year, especially if not very big/old (google mast years). I had a field with a 350 yo oak in and only had one bad year although I leccy taped it off every year.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Does that mean that during the summer it will be safe to graze under them as long as I have made sure that I have cleared up all the acorns from the winter? thanks
 
Sukistokes2 said:
My friend had a problem with one horse eating acorns but the rest ignored them. It is the acorns are what cause the problems. I scoop the ones in my field up, as the fall straight down you can fence them off and get rid of them. Although if there is enough to eat they should leave them be.
Click to expand...

Thanks Suki, my main problem is that I have a very greedy pony who will have plenty to eat, according to me, but not according to him, he thinks he is permanently starved so will eat anything and everything. I'm confident he will love the acorns so just need to work out if it is manageable to fence them off/clear them regularly and keep on top of them....
 
cavalier123 said:
Thanks for your reply. Does that mean that during the summer it will be safe to graze under them as long as I have made sure that I have cleared up all the acorns from the winter? thanks
Click to expand...

yes. I've also heard (but double check) that any acorns on the ground, once they've had a few frosts on them and are black-they aren't toxic anymore-not sure if thats because they are rotten and inedible though.
 
I have beautiful oak trees in my field, the horses love them as they are a great place to have a snooze in the shade. I fence them off in the autumn when the acorns and leaves are dropping, as said above you can get years when there are no acorns at all.

ETS - I take the fence down when the acorns have gone black and manky so it is a relatively short time they are fenced off.
 
Wouldn't stop me moving. Mine love them for the shade they provide. We fence off in the autumn, or scrape up the acorns in a year when not many drop :-)
 
We have a number of oak trees round our field and in 28 years we have only had two years where there have been a lot of acorns. I make sure we lift the canopy and remove any low branches that ponies can reach, and find that in normal years a daily check and pick up keeps the field and paddock free of acorns.

Acorns are easy to spot and pick up, so it would not put me off a field, but I would reconsider if a field was bounded by Sycamores.
 
Shouldn't be a problem. They have to ingest a huge amount to see toxic signs. My TB mare lived in a paddock with an oak tree and I never saw her near it unless she was resting so I didn't think it was an issue. I later found out from my grandparents (whos farm she was living on) that she had hoovered up every acorn that had fallen, and would even scratch in the dirt for them like a chicken! She never had a problem, and this is a horse that can get colic just from looking at fresh grass. Your pony will really appreciate the shade the trees bring!
 
I used to have five oak trees around avery small field and only fenced off when acorns dropped off the trees. Some one on this forum suggested laying netting around the buttom of the trees to collect the acorns which seemed a good idea as at least you know you have collected them all with out having to sort through the grass.
 
Brilliant! Thanks everybody your advice has been fantastic, I will stop worrying and get on with moving and enjoying my new field - yay, very excited! :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top