Paddock Maintenance

[ThePinkPony]

With small apple trees in paddocks, would you leave them as they are, chope them down or just clip the branches slightly.

im a bit worried that the trees in the paddock are a bit of a hazard. They are old and pretty dead but have alot of droopy branches at horse head height.

Theres only 4 trees but i cant help feeling like she could bash herself on one. i doubt she would eat them as they are mainly leafless.

?? i have the choice of another a bit further down the road that has grazing but is has alot of bramble bushes which we will be hooking down. But for the meantime i want her fairly close to the house for a few weeks.

???? peanut M&MS for everyone.

 

[Shoei]

I would just leave them as they are. We keep our old veteran in an old orchard and she has never had problems with the trees..... other than picking the apples off them herself!! They offer good shade and a good scratching post.

 

[indie999]

Wouldnt worry the only thing if they eat too many apples. My boy rubbed a tree down! The neighbours orchard ended up minus an apple tree the whole tree was tipped over...v embarrassing!

 

[Dubsie]

Our two are out in a wooded area for the summer - plenty of shade and enough grass as it's about the only place the ground isn't dried out completely. However deapite all the trees, they don't hesitate to bolt out from within at a gallop the minute they notice you have appeared. I've never known either to hit any tree they just seem to know exactly where they are and how low the branches are too.

 

[Fii]

Are they dead?
If not you could prune them, but the autumn is the best time for this.
The thing is, if you chop them down, the stumps will be more lethal than just leaving them, you would have to dig the stumps out.

 

[Serenity087]

What sort of small we talking about here? Short trees or baby trees?

I would cut off the lower branches in the autumn before the winter weather kicks in if they're just small trees. If you don't want many apples then cut it back to the trunk like councils do with roadside trees - they'll bush out but have less fruit.

But ftr, Dorey is a seasoned scrumper and it's never done her any harm (except build up some excellent muscle on the underside of her neck!).

 

[ThePinkPony]

The arent bearing fruit, and cider apples are freaking rank! the trees are almost dead, one is but is entwined around another, and i agree about the stumps.

I worry more that she'll be daft and poke herself in the eye or something. They are grown at really stupid angles with loads of small sticky bits so methinks we shall just chop the sticky bits iykwim lol.

Eugh, i keep forgetting that she is a horse!