Trees Not to Have in Your Horse Pasture

Losing a horse is heartbreaking and its especially so if all it would have taken is a little knowledge to prevent the loss. Losing a horse to tree poisoning is devastating partially because we see trees as part of our horses natural surroundings.
Anything in your horses pastures is fair game for tasting. If there is plenty of other food such as grass or hay available your horse probably wont touch any of the trees within its reach. But if it gets bored or hungry to satisfy its need to graze your horse might try chewing on tree barks branches or leaves. Some horses love the taste of willow staghorn sumac and a few others. Others nibble out of habit or curiosity rather than hunger or taste. But what this all means is that any tree thats growing within a horse pasture should be safe to eat.

Generally horse owners dont plant trees in pastures for this reason. Saplings have a good chance of being aggressively pruned by horsesto the point where youll be left with nothing but a ragged stick. If you do plant trees youll need to find a way to safely protect them until they are large enough that they are no longer a tender snack. The protection needs to be safe for both horses and the tree. If you plan to plant for a windbreak its

 probably best to plant the trees on the outside of your pasture fence just beyond your horses reach. Of course youll want to plant trees that are safe if they are eventually eaten.

Toxic Trees
Many pastures included forested areas. These provide important shade and shelter from the wind and are a nice addition to a natural setting. But you may want to check that there are no trees that are actually toxic to your horse. Toxic
trees and shrubs in North America include
Junipers
Apricot cherry peach and plum trees
Locusts including honey and black
Yew
Oleander
Mountain Laurel
Boxwood
Elderberry