To buy a copy of our advisory 2012 Horse Pasture calendar please visit the Horse Pasture Management Calendar page.
This brief guide is intended to help horse and pony owners to understand the negative effects that their animals can have on trees and hedges. It will help to explain to other people why trees and hedging are important for horses and ponies. It will show how paddock owners can contribute to both Surrey's landscape quality, and nature conservation by preserving, and in some cases, planting new trees and hedges. Please be aware that this information is available with pictures as a PDF at the end of the page.
Horses need trees and hedges to benefit from the shelter that they provide in both summer and in winter. During the summer, horses and ponies stand under the trees to benefit from the shade. In winter, trees will keep some light rain off them, and hedges play an important role in acting as a windbreak. These advantages are obviously most important in fields where horses and ponies are kept out all year round.
Horses and ponies can be a nuisance when they strip the bark from healthy trees and eat all the leaves and twigs on hedges. A horse will browse leaves up to 2.5 meters in height. It is most often done when they have eaten all the grass in their fields. Some horses and ponies seem to shred bark from trees and their branches even when they have grazing available.
It is an offence to damage trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), and the horse or pony's owner would be liable if such a tree were to be chewed!
Watch Trees and Hedges advice video(Transcript at bottom of the page)
Please note: This file uses Windows Media Video/Audio 9 Codecs. If you have a problem viewing, you can download the latest Windows Media Playerfrom the Microsoft site.
The damage that horses and ponies can do to trees and hedging will eventually kill them - and even worse for the owner, may kill their horse or pony! The yew tree (Taxus baccata) is extremely poisonous and whilst rarely found in rural hedgerows, it is often planted in gardens as both a tree and a hedging plant. Yew trees are also commonly planted in churchyards. Acorns from oak trees (Quercus spp.) can cause illness and even death in horses and ponies. More information about poisonous trees can be found on the Poisonous Plants page.
As well as the reduction in available shelter caused when trees and hedges are badly damaged, the visual effect is one of neglect, which has a negative effect on the local landscape. In some areas of Surrey, trees and hedges are not part of the scenery, but in others, such as the High and Low Wealds, trees and hedging form an important part of the distinctive landscape types.
Wildlife, from birds and mammals to insects and amphibians, all benefit enormously from native species of trees and hedging plants. These provide important food and shelter, as well as hedges acting as 'wildlife corridors' to enable small mammals, insects and arthropods to move between areas of habitat. The destruction of trees and hedges by horses and ponies not only removes important nest sites from birds, but also has a huge impact on many different types of species.
Fencing out trees and hedges will protect them if carried out correctly. Unfortunately, horses and ponies have a long reach, and fences need to be at least 2 metres away from newly planted hedges unless they have a strand of electrified wire across the top. A single strand of electric wire on the top of post and rail fence will stop them chewing this as well!
A fence around trees is also the best way to protect them with the materials costing as little as £1.20p per metre. Most fencing manufacturers supply special large wire or plastic mesh tree guards to protect trees from both horses and ponies and deer. Some people use chicken wire against the bark of the tree to prevent it being chewed, but remember the girth of a tree expands as the tree grows, so be prepared to increase the diameter of the wire protection regularly, and do not nail or staple into the tree bark.
If it is simply not affordable to fence out all the trees and hedges in a paddock, the trees can possibly be protected by treating with a proprietary unpalatable substance normally used for preventing 'crib biting' or wood chewing in the stable.
Mineral licks are a relatively inexpensive way of supplying the important vitamins and minerals the horses and ponies may be seeking when they chew tree bark. Most feed merchants will supply these.
Placing fallen branches or even logwood in the field may offer an alternative if the horses and ponies are really determined to chew on wood!
Trees generally need little maintenance. Any dead branches will generally be blown out of the trees by high winds, and if they are seen as a danger can be sawn off. The tree will seal over any wounds itself so these do not need dressing.
Hedges can either be mechanically trimmed, coppiced, or laid. Ideally, internal hedges should only be trimmed on a 2-3 year rotation or 3 times in every 5 years. Hedges on the edges of roads or rights of way should probably be cut every winter - but never after the 14th of February, which is the traditional date for birds to start nesting! Coppicing or laying are excellent ways to rejuvenate old hedges, and are carried out on a 7-20 year rotation.
Local wildlife conservation groups or local planning authorities will be able to advise on what method is most suitable to each different local landscape area.
Trees and hedges are important to horses and ponies, to wildlife, and to the appearance of the larger landscape. Their preservation and protection benefits not only the horses and ponies kept in Surrey, but also enhances the area in which they are kept.
It may be possible to get help with funding, or practical help to protect existing trees and hedges, or even to plant new ones in appropriate areas. Your local authority can generally advise on the likelihood of this and put you in contact with any possible sources. A small effort can lead to a big impact on the local landscape as well as your horse or pony's health!
The advice note is also available in a PDF version by following the link below
Trees and hedges advice note April 2002
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/?a=200873
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