spinoff: would you chop this maple down?

[dmalbone]

I can't find any evidence that Japanese maples are poisonous to horses, but since they are literally red (but are NOT red maples, a.k.a. acer rubrum) it seems to be one of those "there's not enough evidence that they're dangerous or safe". So I'm torn... It is the small maple in the front yard. The fence pasture is going to follow the driveway on the right side so technically there's a chance that leaves could blow around. The pasture will be on the east side of the tree and wind doesn't blow that way often here that I would be extremely worried about the leaves blowing in, but who knows... I haven't been here a fall yet to really notice. WWYD? Play it safe and chop it down? Wait until fall and if they start ending up in there chop it down? Leave it and hope it's ok? There are two of these japanese maples in the front yard, kind of framing the house on both sides. They're much bigger now than in the picture, that's an old google maps pic, hence the bad quality!
http://tinyurl.com/nmbsua

[Guin]

Leave the trees alone. They're plenty far enough away from the pasture.

[shakeytails]

I absolutely would not cut down a healthy Japanese maple. I planted one on purpose in front of my barn.

You know, for years horses peacefully co-existed with all kinds of trees in their pastures, and now people look for any excuse to cut down a perfectly good tree that will take years to replace. Mine have been pastured for years with black walnut and maple trees, and there's even a few cherry trees out there along the fenceline. I'll admit the cherry trees make me a little nervous because just a few wilted leaves can kill, but the others- no way.

[dmalbone]

Thanks for the input. I would say though, that I'm hardly "looking for any excuse to cut down a perfectly good tree". I'm the biggest tree and nature lover there is, but a tree that can be replaced is much more important than the safety of my horses. Yes, horses have existed for years with poisonous trees, but that's not a risk I personally want to take if I have a known fatal tree in their pasture- not that that's my case. A lot of times these are horses who are on large pastures with extensive forage to pick from. That's also not my case.

[JSwan]

I think you have to take these cases on an individual basis.

For example - my pastures have many toxic species in them, but they're also chocked full of grass. In the spring though - they're also full of Jack in the Pulpit. (in a few areas). Black Walnut and Butternut are everywhere in this area, and it's not uncommon to find livestock snoozing under 100 year old trees. They're not dead, they're sleepin'. Really. :winkgrin:

Most toxic species horses don't eat unless there is nothing else around - but exceptions like wilting cherry leaves, maple - stuff you might find blown down after a storm could be the exception.

What some people do is fence off a tree they know their livestock might chew on, gird, or rub on.

If you have a "problem" tree in a pasture that is devoid of forage, then you might consider cutting it down. (but in your case that's an expensive tree so it might be worth hiring a landscape crew to dig it up and move it to a safer location). If you cut down a Black Walnut or Butternut (to a lesser extent), you're actually causing more problems because it's the jugulone that is toxic - and it's not exposed unless the tree is cut. So those you might want to leave intact. Otherwise you'll have a raw stump and sawdust everywhere. Not good.

If you're worried that your horse might make a beeline for wilting leaves of certain species - you could just make it your habit to walk your pastures after a bad storm or windy day. You'll verify your fencelines are intact - but also be able to spot downed branches before they pose a problem.

A lot of horse folks get very worried about their horses when they first move out to their own place - and that's understandable. On the other hand, if you have decent forage available horses generally prefer to eat that and/or hay rather than make beelines for toxic species.

Honestly, your land may have toxic species all over the place and you'll never know it unless you go out there and examine each weed, shrub and tree at different times of the year. You could really go crazy if you wanted to. :lol:

ETA - what a nice bit of land you have there. If that was my place - nah. I'd leave 'em up.

[twofatponies]

I've watched my horses graze, for hours at a time (during rehab hand grazing) and they are very particular about what they eat. The push aside things with their noses, spit out the roots or seeds of things they don't want, choose just this flower or that leaf to get their favorite things. They know what's good for them and have very agile lips and tongues for sorting stuff out. Now if they were starving on a dirt paddock they might eat the bad stuff in desperation, but given good hay and even mediocre pasture they choose "food" every time.

I suppose it's possible some horses will eat anything you put in front of them, toxic, unpalatable, or not, but I've never met one.

I know some farms that have old apple trees in their fields and they put little square fences around them so the horses won't eat all the apples.

[dmalbone]

Thanks so much. We'll leave them up and in case anything weird happens if the grass starts getting low I'll keep an eye on them.