Planting trees in the paddock

[Gio82]

Good morning everyone and greeting from Italy. May I ask for some help please? I'm currently planning on adding some trees to the paddock, it's just very hard to find good info on the safe ones for the livestock... I also need to relocate the 4 I have planted near the fence cause I've been told the foliage contains a toxin... So I need to get more info... I already scanned italian websites but it's not easy to find proper informations... So I was wondering if someone can help me here... I'm currently planning on adding a wheeping willow, a white salix and some birches (white and black ones). I read their foliage is safe and no parts of the trees are toxic but u never know... The big question mark is, when the foliage starts to fall in autumn, my mare will probably eat it all, considering there is no grass in his paddock. Would it be ok for her??

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[PurBee]

Willow and birches are fine.
The autumn leaves when they fall will be brown and my horses are not interested in eating any brown leaves from the hundreds of trees that surround their areas, so youll have to wait and see if your horse will eat old dead leaves...i’d be surprised!

Hawthorn make good bushy fences, the leaves are nutritious in early spring. I have some mature hawthorn that are more like trees of 20foot tall ...they are ancient and loved by birds/horses...its a safe hedging that also creates a natural windbreak for horses to shelter beside.

 

[Orangehorse]

Whatever trees you plant they will have to be very well fenced, horses have long necks and can stretch a very long way. If they can reach the tree they will eat it before it gets a chance to grow.

 

[millikins]

Weeping willow isn't toxic, in fact you'll have trouble keeping your horses away from it but it's very thirsty, if your land can't support grass I'd be surprised if WW would thrive.

 

[Palindrome]

Hazlelnut I think is a good one, but the species to plant depend on your climate too. If you are in Southern Italy, some species might not thrive or grow.

 

[windand rain]

All evergreens are toxic to a degree so dont plant any of those but willow, Hazel and Ash seem okay Hawthorn and Blackthorn are great too but can be a bit thorny

 

[JackFrost]

You really have to use the species that are native in your area, otherwise they will not thrive. Most of us on the forum are in locations very north of you, and can't really advise on what's right for you. Look at what species grow where you are, then research them for toxicity, speed of growth and general habits. You will need to fence them off from the horses for several years, or they will just get eaten. In the Uk you could plant hazel, beech, birch, hawthorn, ash, oak, willow. My horses have always loved eating ash leaves.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Hornbeam is another good one.