[Brianna6432]

Well,
there's cherry trees in my horse's pasture. I got Carly in October of 09 when there were barely any leaves on the trees, she was eating some ( including some cherry ) and she was completely normal and fine. It begun to snow and all the leaves disappeared. It's still a blizzard out ( might have a snowday tomorrow! ) but I'm trying to prepare myself for the spring. So, there's around twelve cherry trees in Carly's pasture. Some small and some VERY large. That's my problem right there. Number one, some are so big that if they're cut down they will definately fall on the fence or her barn. And I mean some are HUGE. Very large in diameter and tall. Very, very, very tall. Like, super tall. BIG. Others are small and wouldn't be too much of a hassle to chop down but we have no one to do it. I live with my mom and fifteen year old brother. That's it. We don't have anything to chop them down either...
So...WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!

p.s. I wrapped the bark on all of the cherry trees, so that's covered. It's just the leaves and I've read wilted cherry leaves are posionous to horses, correct?

 

[Miloismyboy]

We had two VERY large persimmon trees in our pasture... for some reason my MIL didn't realize they could potentially be harmful to horses, especially if they gorge on them. When I watched her horse making a pig out of himself on the fruit I made sure those trees came down... quickly. Are there any guys in your neck of the woods that you can hire to do odd jobs like that? You could check the phone book for an independent contractor to take care of them.... or you could post and ad on Craigslist (careful about that one though, ya never know who is going to call ya). I'm not sure about the toxicity of cherry tree leaves, I would be concerned about those pits though... not easily digestible.

 

[Brianna6432]

About the pits? What are pits?

 

[Miloismyboy]

About the pits? What are pits?

The seed inside the cherry. I just did a google search on cherry trees and horses. I would cut them down.

 

[Brianna6432]

Ughhhh, that sucks. That really sucks. Another problem I failed to mention - my mom won't go for it.
My mom isn't into horses like I am and she won't want all that work+money to be paid for half of our backyard to get chopped down.

 

[Brianna6432]

Also, I don't mean to double post but I googled cherry tree bark... it looks like I've got black cherry trees, not just regular cherries. Are those still posionous, do you know?

 

[Miloismyboy]

Also, I don't mean to double post but I googled cherry tree bark... it looks like I've got black cherry trees, not just regular cherries. Are those still posionous, do you know?

Here is one source... Toxic Trees: Keep Your Horses Safe at Pasture

if you go to google and type in "are cherry trees harmful to horses" you will get quite a few hits. Do some research on it and bring what you find to your mom, hopefully she'll change her mind. It's just better to be safe than sorry! My mother in law wasn't too keen on the persimmon trees coming down, but once she realized it was her horse that was most at risk for problems she yielded pretty well. Would have been nice if she'd helped though!

 

[Brianna6432]

UPDATE: I had a plan. My brother was willing to chop down the trees ( if he was paid /: ) and I was going to ask my uncle to help. I had it all planned out, too. I told my mom and guess what she said. NO. She said there's too many to cut down and she doesn't want all of the trees gone in her backyard. I tried telling her to read about it online but she wouldn't. She said Carly didn't eat any leaves in the fall. I said she did and mom's like "well the good thing is, she didn't die." That's only because she didn't eat a lot, though!

What do I do, guys?!!?

 

[qtrhrsecrazy]

Move out.. get your own place where you can call the shots. Those cherry trees are toxic to your horse. Move your horse if you can't move.

 

[Indyhorse]

Do you have enough room to relocate your fences or move your pasture so Carly doesn't have access to the cherry trees? I agree with qtrhrsecrazy, if that's not an option, board your horse or move out :lol:

 

[Brianna6432]

Well, firstly, I'm fourteen years old and cannot move out.
Secondly, I cannot afford a boarding fee - my mom could but she won't when there's a perfectly fine barn in my backyard ( plus, we put the fence up for Carly specifically ).

I was told that ,yes, cherry Leaves are poisonous. BUT ONLY WHEN WILTING. Not when first budding, not when dry, not when green and fresh on the tree. So. Could I cut the branches that Carly could reach, and when they fall off in the fall could I blow them away with a leaf blower? That's the option my mom said.

 

[Miloismyboy]

another option is get some temporary fencing just to block off access to where the trees are if that's possible. That way she can't get to the fallen leaves or fruit. You can get temporary fencing relatively cheap, probably cheaper than a vet visit for a sick horse!

 

[Brianna6432]

another option is get some temporary fencing just to block off access to where the trees are if that's possible. That way she can't get to the fallen leaves or fruit. You can get temporary fencing relatively cheap, probably cheaper than a vet visit for a sick horse!

I would but that's not an option, the trees are scattered everywhere :/