For those of you who have experiences with horses, help me out on this one please. We have a new horse who could use more grazing room. I do have part of the back yard that I could fence off for him but there are several pine trees there. I have always heard that horses kill trees by eating the bark off them. I know they'll eat off the new buds but would they kill the tree otherwise? These are tall trees, mostly white and norway pine. My husband planted them when we built this house and I would hate to see them destroyed by a horse! Also, is one strand of electric fence enough? He's 6 yrs. old and has alot of energy! Doesn't seem to be a jumper though. Thanks!!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), May 08, 2000

Answers

Hi Pat. My horses didn't break out of an electric fence once they were used to its location but if we should somehow part company-an unplanned parting of the ways-they wouldn't hesitate to break in to get home. If you flag the wire to get his attention, one might be enough. Put him in early enough in the day that he can figure out where things are before dark.

As far as the trees, the times I've seen horses damage trees have been when they had nothing else to eat. Mine didn't seem to bother trees unless the grass was gone or unpalatable. Like goats being blamed for deforestation, it's a matter of the herder to see that they don't damage vegetation.

Good luck

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), May 08, 2000.

My horses ate the bark off most of the trees in their pen. They did it with hay on the ground, salt mineral blocks out, and being fed corn and 16% horse feed. They were not hungry or thin. They were bored. However, they didn't eat the bark off the pine trees. They weren't too crazy about the sweet gums either. Hickory and oak trees were their favorite. I sprayed the tree trunks with a no-crib product, and they would leave it alone for a couple of days, then go back and eat the bark anyway. One horse started it, and taught the others to eat bark.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), May 09, 2000.

Pat, one strand of electric will probably hold your horse as long as he can see it and is trained to it. For safety sake, I would suggest two strands, and use the more visible tapes so he remembers it's there. Horses don't see things quite the same way we do, and one thin strand of wire is almost invisible to them.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 09, 2000.

Gonna try and get this fence up today. A neighbor had all the equipment on my brothers land he was using and when they moved, they left all the fencing. This was 3 yrs. ago and I've been hanging onto it since then. I figured sooner or later, I'd need it. It's the real heavy duty wire! Now, just hope I do it right! Thanks again! Pat (Patricia)

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), May 09, 2000.

Horse have trouble seeing the regular electric wire. You need to use tape and preferable at least 1 1/2" wide. Most horses respect electric fence unless scared so it should work.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), May 09, 2000.

a friend of ours spent two hours chasing his new horse when it got out, so you might want to train it to come to a little grain in a pan so if it ever gets out you can catch it easly.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), May 09, 2000.

I totally agree with marking the fence well!!!! Years a go a neighbor put up a fence & didn't mark it! My little mare & I were chaseing a loose critter--my mare got caught up in that hot wire we didn't know was there!!! It is a miracle I'm still alive! That little mare was my best friend--but when she got caught in that hot wire all hell broke loose! I like to never got her out of it---& she was scared to death! Had it tangled all around her feet & she was going crazy!!!! From then on, when ever-- we even rode next to a piece of wire, she saw on the ground, she went crazy! Please mark the fence well! I also agree the horse needs to be use to you & you be able to catch it, with a bucket of grain or how ever. I just don't like hot wires & horses-- but if it is an only option just be careful with it! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), May 09, 2000.

P.S. this is Sonda again--this isn't a stud horse you are putting in an electric fence is it???? You said "He" I hope it is a gelding! Don't ever plan on putting a stud in an electric fence! The reasons should be obvious. Some times we take for granted people know --when they don't! Experience is the best teacher. This forum helps us not have to reinvent the wheel! Sonda

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), May 09, 2000.

WOW !! There sure are alot of horse lovers out there! No, the horse is not a stud, he is a gelding. I appreciate all the advice you guys have given. The kids and I worked on a barb wire fence today for the herefords. That is hard work!!!! If I do run a fence it probably will be electric (yes, with flags on them). I would have liked to run more cow panel but that gets to be expensive. Thanks to all who responded!!!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), May 09, 2000.

I really don't know much about horses, but could tell you what stopped our goats and sheep from eating bark off a few favorite trees. We mixed some fresh cow manure (could probably be horse as well) with a little water and then brushed it on the tree trunks. No one bothered those trees anymore and erven after it rained they were never chewed on again. I imagine this would work for the horses as well.

-- Kate Henderson (sheeplady@catskill.net), May 10, 2000.

I keep my horse in the front and back yard with just a single strand of electric. It's not recommended, but he's a hot Arab that thinks everything in the woods is gonna kill him! People driving by slam on the brakes to stop and stare. I've been turned in to the Humane Society more than once over this well-cared for Arab in my front yard!! I mark the electric line with that fluourescent tree tape and Cobasko Bey stays in quite nicely. Even when the fence gets knocked down by deer. Your horse may try to eat the edges off the pines. Especially in the Spring. Basko even eats axle grease with cayenne pepper! Silly Arab. A couple of lines around the trees, un-electrified, will work if he's used to electric fence. If he's not, unplug the electric, tie an ear of corn on it and wait until he's touching it to plug it back in. I didn't have to do this to Basko, but we had to with another horse years ago who kept walking down a fence. LOTS OF BUCKING AND SQUALLING WILL HAPPEN. So CAUTION when using this technique! The only difference between a pasture and a yard is a fence (and the need to mow)! Good Luck!

-- Gailann Taylor Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), May 11, 2000.

By this time (August) you will have found out if your horse eats the trees...my experience is that every horse has a different appetite. One mare ate birchs only (and seasoned wood). I currently have a gelding who eats white pine like a salad bar (not enough grazing/hay) and he gets pitch-covered and cow-pat diarrhea from it, but it's not poisonous. He eats both bark and needles -- it clears up in a day or two. My friend Jake's horses are destroying his Red/Norway pines, same results. If the horse girdles the tree bark,it will die. If they spend so much time stomping the ground under the tree to dry dirt, it'll likely also die. Another problem with tree-eating (other than poisonous varieties like cherry, and black walnut which can cause severe colic and/or laminitis problems if they eat leaves, blossoms, or even if their feet so much as touch them or as bedding shavings) is the possibility of choking. It the horse swallows alarge chunk, or a long stringy bark bit, there is the very real chance of the horse choking to death. If your horse IS choking (regurgitated food/snot coming out of nose) call your vet IMMEDIATELY or likely you won't save them.

I second the idea of using tape instead of single strand wire. There is also a very good product now available that is like a soft nylon rope with wire braided into it that is very easy to string and easy to maintain, and cheap enough to put up 2-3 strands. Horses DO figure out how to get out of single-strand pretty easily , unless your horse is exceptionally mellow about it. Tying strips of ripped up old sheets onto the wire if you MUST go that route will make it much easier to spot for both horse and human (and dogs -- once they know the fence is there and what zapped them, it's a good chance they'll avoid it in future).

The idea of smearing manure on the trees is a good one. There is a thing called 'The Ring of Repugnance', which is to say, horses won't graze in a ring around their (or other equines) feces to avoid parasite infestation (unless they are VERY hungry -- toss more hay!!), and unless the horse has a depraved appetite and eats feces, it might work. 3 bottles of Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce did not deter my jumper mare from eating stall boards right thru -- she licked it off (Cajun horse) happily. You can also wrap chicken wire over the trunks to prevent gnawing, but remember that the horse will also gnaw down at the root level of anything exposed, and can reach as high as 12-14 feet, depending on the height of the horse (more!). It's not pretty, but it works in desperation. Old snowfencing is also useful for this.

One rememdy I used for one barn-eating mare was to give her organic apple cider vinegar in her food every day (best to cut it half-and- half with water so it's not too strong), about 1/2 cup on the grain. After she'd consumed about a gallon of the stuff, she stopped wood eating for a while again. She had some sort of a nutritional deficiency that caused that, because she always had hay in front of her. I am feeding my herd a good nutritional supplement at this time (Stride) complete with kelp and probiotics, which helps with a lot of nutritional deficiencies, but Albert STILL eats the trees (whenever they don't throw him more hay) -- the 5 mares are uninterested in shrubbery, and the Cajun mare stopped eating the boards when we put a window in. Good luck.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), August 26, 2000.