Re: oak trees

["Beth Gunn" <happyhoofprints@hotmail.com>]

My new babies from mountains in Colorado (ie no trees in their fields) have eaten all the bark off our sweet gum trees.  Left the pines and oaks alone.  The sweet gum has sicky syrup under the bark and smells really good too.  I don't like these trees anyway...drop spiny balls as "cones" and shed lots of leaves to rack and burn.  And they grow very tall and thick very quickly.  So are a major hazard during hurricanes/storms as the huge tops break off and will destroy what ever they fall on.

We expanded the paddock to 2 acres with grass and free choice grass hay and run the 4 horses together.  This seems to have alleviated their bordom.  Which was adding to the tree eating.  They had plenty of hay, hand walk/ponying every day.  But they needed more room and the company of their new "herd members".  I do supplement with some sweet feed/beet pulp and salt blocks.  You may have to fence the trees off.  Be careful on the amount of acorns they eat.  Toxic in large quantities.  You don't have red maple in your fields, do you?  VERY bad.  I cut them down, rake leaves and burn the whole mess.  Same thing with wild cherry.  And we have a LOT of both here in the wetter sections of pine forests.

Good Luck

Beth Gunn

----- Original Message -----

From: Jeannie Gillen

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Friday, October 12, 2001 6:09 PM

Subject: RC: oak trees

I recently moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and have provided my horses with 20 acres to play in.....to my dismay, they have started eating (leaves, bark, etc) my oaks trees ?????  I have given them extra mineral and salt licks.....but they still chew up the trees??  Any advice or experience will be appreciated