Recommendations for hedge plants please

[Sussexbythesea]

SBTS - strangely enough it was a Sussex farmer who told me that . I also have it along one side of the school and tonight we had some horrid little black, biting flies out

Yes that’s what we get nasty things.

 

[little_critter]

I personally love Holly trees, but I am not sure horses don't like eating them .. If you want something easy to take care of and fast growing, I would consider beech or box hedging, rather traditional plants I guess. Here is a great guidance on best hedging plants by the way https://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/hedging . Good luck.

I believe box is poisonous to horses.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I believe box is poisonous to horses.

It smells of cat pee, too.

I'd never heard of hawthorn attracting flies, nor noticed it... There is loads of hawthorn around where I grew up, all up the street to the Infant and Nursery school I went to, and all along the Rivelin valley where I used to ramble, cycle and walk my dog.

I don't have a very good idea of what plants are toxic to horses, and this worries me slightly when we're out on a ride through the forest and we slow down or stop for a few moments (for example, when the trail crosses a road, or when we want to check the girth straps before we get onto a long straight where we can canter or gallop safely)... the horses often want to take the opportunity to nibble at what's within reach.

So one day, I mentioned to the instructor that I had read that what is generally toxic to horses has a taste that horses don't like; she replied that this is more or less true, but that horses in the wild would learn this kind of stuff from their mothers and from the herd, and that horses reared at breed farms wouldn't have the chance to learn this, and could also just happen to, for example, like bitter flavours...

Meaning that a horse might munch quite happily on something toxic, and if I let it, could gobble down a sufficient quantity to make it ill.

So when we're out on a trail, I try to stop the horse I'm on from munching anything at all except for the odd mouthful of grass. I suppose it's also a question of discipline, that the horse should learn that unless I allow it, this is work time, not eating time, so I try to stop it from munching at trees for that reason too.

I'm rambling, now, getting away from the subject of what to plant for a hedge...

So, er, what's this hedge for, in the original post? To hide an unsightly fence, rather than being a physical barrier, I think... And there's going to be an electric fence to stop the horses from getting to the hedge?

I think I'd go for beech, hornbeam and oak, and put in a bit of blackthorn if you want to harvest a few sloes, maybe a quince here and there, and if you want some flowers, some forsythia, broom and gorse (if you can stand thorns).

 

[little_critter]

It smells of cat pee, too.

I'd never heard of hawthorn attracting flies, nor noticed it... There is loads of hawthorn around where I grew up, all up the street to the Infant and Nursery school I went to, and all along the Rivelin valley where I used to ramble, cycle and walk my dog.

I don't have a very good idea of what plants are toxic to horses, and this worries me slightly when we're out on a ride through the forest and we slow down or stop for a few moments (for example, when the trail crosses a road, or when we want to check the girth straps before we get onto a long straight where we can canter or gallop safely)... the horses often want to take the opportunity to nibble at what's within reach.

So one day, I mentioned to the instructor that I had read that what is generally toxic to horses has a taste that horses don't like; she replied that this is more or less true, but that horses in the wild would learn this kind of stuff from their mothers and from the herd, and that horses reared at breed farms wouldn't have the chance to learn this, and could also just happen to, for example, like bitter flavours...

Meaning that a horse might munch quite happily on something toxic, and if I let it, could gobble down a sufficient quantity to make it ill.

So when we're out on a trail, I try to stop the horse I'm on from munching anything at all except for the odd mouthful of grass. I suppose it's also a question of discipline, that the horse should learn that unless I allow it, this is work time, not eating time, so I try to stop it from munching at trees for that reason too.

I'm rambling, now, getting away from the subject of what to plant for a hedge...

So, er, what's this hedge for, in the original post? To hide an unsightly fence, rather than being a physical barrier, I think... And there's going to be an electric fence to stop the horses from getting to the hedge?

I think I'd go for beech, hornbeam and oak, and put in a bit of blackthorn if you want to harvest a few sloes, maybe a quince here and there, and if you want some flowers, some forsythia, broom and gorse (if you can stand thorns).

Sorry Keith, I’d avoid oak due to poisonous acorns. I think broom is also poisonous (please don’t take my word for it, please check)

I would also now avoid blackthorn after having the vet out last year to remove a 1” thorn from my pony’s armpit.

I know what you mean about uneducated horses. My pony is greedy and will grab at greenery first and think later, not something I want her to do when her intended snack is a bit of yew!
And she doesn’t learn, I think she grabbed some hogweed once (not the giant version). It must be an irritant as she started coughing and drooling. She hasn’t leant her lessons and will still try to grab the same stuff.

My suggestions: hazel and hawthorn.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Sorry Keith, I’d avoid oak due to poisonous acorns. I think broom is also poisonous (please don’t take my word for it, please check)

I would also now avoid blackthorn after having the vet out last year to remove a 1” thorn from my pony’s armpit.
..snip..

My suggestions: hazel and hawthorn.

I didn't know acorns were poisonous to horses, either...

I went looking for a list, and haven't found a reliable one yet.

The Horse & Hound web site has a ridiculous little clickbait article "5 common plants that could kill your horse"... Are we so stupid that we don't deserve the more common format of "SEVEN things that ..."? For a moment I thought I had slipped over to the Daily Fail, and I was surprised to not see Kim Kardashian's latest bikini photos in a sidebar...

Another list I found was far too long, and contained many errors...

Still looking...

 

[Keith_Beef]

quick growing, hardy, not edible to horses,

Everything is edible to a horse...

 

[TGM]

We planted a mix of hawthorn, holly and hazel whips alongside our school fence, next to the horses' paddock. The hawthorn has proved the best - it grows up and sideways at the same rate so forming a dense hedge quite quickly, and although the horses do nibble it a bit (despite the electric fence) they only seem interested in the tips, whereas the hazel gets eaten to the ground if they get the chance, and the holly can get quite damaged too. I also find the hazel just tends to grow up, not out, so doesn't make a brilliant hedge unless you lay it. If I had to option to plant another hedge I would choose just hawthorn next time.

Not found a problem with hawthorn and flies - we have plenty of hawthorn in the perimeter hedging as well.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We planted hawthorn and rosa rugosa, which are both growing well. They tiny hollies, which were donated from another garden, were quickly eaten, probably by the sheep. A huge mature holly seems to be untouched by any horses.

I would avoid oaks, and broom, which are poisonous to horses and blackthorn whose thorns are a well-known nuisance. Elder and rowans also grow well here.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Following on from this thread, and from the one about sycomores, hypoglycin A and equine atypical myopathy ...

I'm keen to plant trees in my garden that will attract birds, but also whose seeds will be dispersed either by birds or by the wind into the nearby woodland. I'm thinking also about low plants, too, like Yarrow.

But since a lot of people take their horses to graze in the undergrowth, I don't want to plant anything that is going to be toxic for horses.

So.... how about starting a list of GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) species, and another of problematic species?