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Discussion on Chewing poplar tree trunks
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Member:
Gardener
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 7:06 pm:
My friend wants to throw a long poplar trunk of a tree into my horse's pen. She says it is fun for them to strip the bark and it is healthy for the horse to chew it. She says it will prevent boredom. I am afraid it might encourage cribbing.
Does anyone know if this is true or false, or if there could be any other health problems.
Thanks!
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 7:24 pm:
Samantha , I put in 1/2 a fence post in my stalled horses in the winter... they chew away on that and not on my barn.. all tho, I do have a mare that will chew on both.. errrrrrr Yes it does give them something to do... I have also sent their ''chew toy'' with them when put in training or off to be bred...
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 8:21 pm:
Around here people use juniper and cedar limbs. the horses seem to love chewing on them. Like Ann, I put them in their turnout pens in the winter. I know deer chew on poplars, so I wouldn't think they'd hurt horses.
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 16, 2005 - 11:56 pm:
Poplar trunks and branches are great "toys" for the horses, especially in the winter when the horses are turned out in a grassless, snowy paddock. Make certain there are no pointy branches on which the horses can get poked or stabbed.
No, it doesn't encourage cribbing . . . at least, not in the horses I know.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Jun 17, 2005 - 8:37 am:
One caution is there is a report of skin irritation when bedded on yellow poplar so I would watch that. Personally I would not know a yellow poplar if it fell on me. Down here what most folks call poplar or tulip poplar are actually in the magnolia family.
DrO
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Friday, Jun 17, 2005 - 10:42 am:
These trees out west are related to cotton woods, I think. They look a lot like a birch.
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Friday, Jun 17, 2005 - 11:02 am:
I think poplar and aspen are from the same family. We had them in VT and in CO.
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Member:
Maggienm
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Posted on Saturday, Jun 18, 2005 - 11:28 am:
Cottonwood, Poplar (white or black) and Aspen are the same family;
Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Salicales Family: Salicaceae Genus: Populus Section: Populus Species
The willow belongs in the Salicaceae so is a relative.
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Saturday, Jun 18, 2005 - 2:30 pm:
That's interesting Lori.
I suppose one could run a Google Search on the pharmacological properties of Poplar Bark and see what you yield. Lot's to read about.
Susan B.
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Member:
Gardener
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Posted on Saturday, Jun 18, 2005 - 3:51 pm:
Thanks for all the info. I think this tree is a Populus tremuloides, or Trembling Poplar. Thanks for the Google tip. I tried that and found all sorts of interesting information. One article advised poplar bark would help arthritis. So, it doesn't seem to be harmful. I am still debating this though. Neither of my horses chew fence boards or posts now, and I am just so wary of introducing something to chew on. I don't want them to develop a bad habit. I will think about it. Anyways, thanks so much for all the help!
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Member:
Ajudson1
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Posted on Sunday, Jun 19, 2005 - 10:14 pm:
We have often thrown cedar and poplar logs in for our horses too. I wouldn't worry about them getting a bad habit from chewing on them. Here in the U.P. of MI we consider Poplars basically junk trees. Very soft wood, they lose branches really easy. "Quaking Aspen" and Poplars are the same thing I believe.
The only toxic tree I know of with horses in mind is Oak; I believe the leaves are toxic to horses. And I think those ornamental shrubs....Yews(?) are also poisonous. I am tired, so maybe I have that last one wrong. Someone correct me if it's something else that people plant by their house, and is evergreen.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Jun 20, 2005 - 10:11 am:
Angie, there are several common native trees that are quite toxic for a list see Equine Diseases » Poisons , Venoms & Poisonous Plants » Poisons, Poisonous Plants, and Venemous Animals. Yew is toxic also. Oak while often listed as toxic is quite rare as a source of poisoning for horses. There may be some species that more toxic than others and the buds in the spring are the most toxic part.
DrO
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