Sycamore...

[maya2008]

Even if there have never been any seeds or seedlings in your field before....even if there were none yesterday, that doesn't mean there will be none today. We don't have any nearby trees, and have had precisely zero seedlings the last two years. On Sunday there were no seedlings (poo picked and checked), and on Monday none visible when catching in. Today, there's an area about a garage in size, covered in the things. And we have a dead horse.

The vets say they've had more cases than ever, and not all are young. Ours was 8 years old, in the prime of his life. Check, even if you're sure there are no trees near you, the horrible things can obviously fly a very very long way!

 

[Sossigpoker]

I'm so so sorry , you must be devastated.

We have sycamore at my place but none near my paddock. The others don't take it seriously because "it's never been a problem before ". A friend of mine does transport, she's taken 6 horses to hospital with suspected sycamore poisoning in a week - only two are still alive .
I've never hated a plant /tree this much !

 

[GreyDot]

I'm so sorry! How absolutely heartbreaking. We have seedlings, I am picking them up every day. On a livery yard and no one else seems bothered because "we have been here for years". Makes no sense!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

So sorry x

 

[paddy555]

so sorry for your loss.

 

[EllenJay]

So sorry xx

 

[Errin Paddywack]

How absolutely awful, dreadful news. We have a lot of seedlings so our ponies are on a different field and will not go back on the big one till next winter. Hopefully the sheep will deal with them over the summer, if not we will pull them. We would like to take the trees down but not possible unfortunately.

 

[Palindrome]

I am sorry for your loss.
We have no sycamore tree and none that I can see from the neighbors yet I have found 2 sycamore seedlings this week, I will look more closely in case there is more.

 

[meleeka]

So sorry . I’m checking fields just in case some have blown from somewhere, but it sounds like you were really vigilant, so I’m not sure how you could be more careful.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I'm so sorry. We have 2 Sycamore trees earmarked for removal this year but can only see seedlings directly under the trees. It really seems that the sheep have made short work of the others.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

So sorry to read this OP, it's so quick!

 

[jules9203]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I have sycamore trees all around my yard and the owner will not have any trees cut down. We have been there 10yrs and have lost 1 horse to AM. He was a 4yr old ex flat racehorse and although he was being fed hay and hard feed he was still poor..
This year is the worst for seedlings and am spraying. However I also know that my older mare and other older horses have been eating the seeds, in huge amounts off the trees, earlier this year and seem to be immune??

 

[maya2008]

He was just the loveliest - so sweet and kind and caring. You could put anyone on him - 8 year old child to beginner to nervous adult. He was just so lovely. When you asked him to trot or canter he’d pop into this sweet rhythm and that was it - unless you asked for anything else, he was set. Never cared if he got left behind, would pootle along with whoever.

I have absolutely no idea how we will replace him. We’re now down our biggest one so my husband has nothing to ride. This year has been expensive so budget is small - very small - vanishingly small. Something that’s school sour, likes to evict kids but would like to hack for the rest of its life is basically what my budget will cover!

I’m also down a field - have a temporary solution with a friend for the rising 2 year olds, as they don’t do so well with the adult herd. Anyone know what month it will be safe to let them all back in? We will clear until no more are growing obviously.

I sincerely hope we’re the only HHO with this, this year. Enjoy every ride.

 

[meleeka]

He sounds like an absolute legend. So unfair

 

[Lucky Snowball]

So very sorry.

 

[Kunoichi73]

So sorry for your loss. He looks
lovely.

 

[Lois Lame]

He does indeed.

 

[SEL]

Oh no Maya I'm so sorry - that's awful. I think I'd come across just two cases before this year and now it's weekly. I'm paranoid about our fields and for once grateful about the twice daily poo pick.

Such a shock for your family xx

 

[Kaylum]

So sorry he was beautiful. Yes I speak to a lot of horse owners and a few horses have died or are very ill.

 

[Muddy unicorn]

I’m so sorry, what a horrible shock for you all. I’m paranoid about this now - we have a large sycamore in the field they’ve been grazing over winter. We only moved here in the autumn and it had already shed its leaves and presumably seeds by then and to be honest I didn’t really think about it - where we were before there didn’t seem to be any sycamores around. About 3 weeks ago thousands (literally) of the buggers suddenly sprouted - I’ve pulled up hundreds but it’s barely made a dent. I’ve opened up a new section of grass so they’re mostly grazing on the other side of the field where thankfully there are no seedlings but I think I’m going to need to fence that whole corner off for now.

 

[Xmasha]

So sorry maya. I cant imagine what your going through.

A friend of mine messaged me last night to say a pony at her yard has also died due to the sycamores.

Weve spent the weekend checking fields, 2 fields have them, one isnt grazed at the minute so will do that over the next couple of days. The other field had them along one side , We spent hours on our hands and knees pulling them up.

 

[hairycob]

So sorry Maya. The one I lost was 8, we'd had a lovely hack the day before. 9 years ago last week, the last bad year, and it still makes me cry.

 

[MNMyShiningStars]

I am so sorry to hear this Maya. It is really so shocking and scary this year, this is our first year that we have had any at all x

 

[Merrymoles]

So sorry Maya and it is very kind of you to warn everyone.

We have a sycamore on the other side of the fence from our field and my friend pulled up 200 seedlings a couple of days ago. Our horses are not yet in that field as the sheep have been on it all winter and there is no grass yet but we will be pulling all weekend by the look of it. I've very rarely seen a seedling in the ten years we have been there so this year is very unusual.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

So so sorry to hear this. Luckily I've only had a few pop up in my field. The YO field is a different matter. She has pulled up hundreds. So sad for you x

 

[PurBee]

So sorry for your loss maya, how shocking, it’s terrible this year for seedlings. You couldnt have been more vigilent if you’d tried, as they germinate so quickly.
Your boy sounded like a treasure of a horse It’s gracious of you to warn others to be eagle-eyed.
Big hug X

 

[Gloi]

So sorry Maya

The only good thing about the bad weather we have had is that the horses are still only out on the winter sand turnout as it is so wet.

 

[maya2008]

The other ponies are all really nervous of losing sight of each other today. From their point of view he just keeled over and died, who knows who will be next? Felt so strange riding without him. Others from that field still fine - was just him, poor soul.

I spoke with someone today who said her field is covered in the seedlings, too many to remove. She worried about them turning up in hay this winter also.

 

[PeterNatt]

The reason that it is so bad this year is because last year there was little rain and the toxings produced by the tree are very much higher in concentration and therefore very much more dangerous.

 

[meleeka]

The reason that it is so bad this year is because last year there was little rain and the toxings produced by the tree are very much higher in concentration and therefore very much more dangerous.

My acorns were huge too so I’m not surprised.