red maple lethal to horses?

[kennertree]

i know wild cherry is lethal to horses and cattle if they eat the wilted leaves. just wondering if red maple is the same way. a freind of mine has a few horses and the land he has them on has some red maples on it. he heard that red maple has the same affect as wild cherry. does anybody know if it does the same. hope not, cause if they do i'll have to take down the red maples.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The best I can help you with is identifying the tree in question. 99% of non-arborists could tell a red maple from a sugar maple or norway maple. I can also help you with information about horses hurting maples, but the best bet to get reliable information on plant toxicity to horses, is to talk to your veterinarian.

If you have dogs, I just learned that grapes and raisins can be deadly to them. They cause kidney failure.

 

[treeseer]

i know wild cherry is lethal to horses and cattle if they eat the wilted leaves. red maple has the same affect as wild cherry. if they do i'll have to take down the red maples.

'Lethal' may be a little strong. I had a stressed red maple shed early and our horse--a strong colt--founder and needed his stomach pumped.

I have a high-end client who loves maples and his wife loves horses. He won't cut down the maples; their horses have never been bothered. Then again these critters are well-fed in the stable, tho like all ruminants they graze by nature.

Bottom line I guess is, to be ultra-safe remove one or the other (personally I would get rid of the hayburning horses). But if they're not desparate they won't eat what's poisonous to them

 

[ray benson]

Ran across this interesting site that lists trees and plants that are detrimental to horses.
http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/PoisonousPlants.html
Ray

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

It looks like the Red Maple is toxic. Now let's make sure the trees in question are actually Red Maple.
Can you put up a picture of some leaves?

 

[kennertree]

i could, but it would take a few days. my buddy lives almost 2 hours away and right now i cant get up there anytime soon. i can identify red maples from any other maple so the identification isnt the problem. he said they are red maples but he is not too familiar with trees. im gonna go out and take a look next weekend and if in fact they are red maples im sure he's gonna want them removed. right now he has built a temporary fence around all the trees he suspects are hazardous. thanks for everybody's help i'll see what i run into next week.

 

[treeseer]

all the trees he suspects are hazardous.

Remember, before a tree is a hazard there has to be a target. A horse that is not poorly fed or very stupid (our horse was both) is not a target.

Bear in mind also that maple leaves are not toxic when green or brown. It is just in-between, when they are shed due to stress, that they have the alkaloid that gives horses a bellyache. Read the whole link above-- it confirms our experience, that healthy Acer rubrum and healthy horses con easily coexist.

 

[texasnative]

BTW, horses are not ruminants, beeves are. And they are browsers as well as grazers. I digress.

 

[kennertree]

thanks for all the help, i'll make sure my freind reads that site and then see if he still wants them removed. i think he will change his mind after reading the site. it all depends on how much he values the trees. most of them are on the edge of the pasture and in my opinion would'nt pose a threat, but he may think otherwise. we'll see how it goes next week. thanks alot.

 

[treeseer]

BTW, horses are not ruminants, beeves are. And they are browsers as well as grazers. I digress.

I humbly agree. Cows are ruminants as are sheep goats deer etc. And yes horses are browsers; some will eat about anything in front of them.