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  Discussion on Red Maples Everywhere!
Author Message
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Thursday, Apr 19, 2007 - 10:37 am:

I am only weeks away from bringing the horses home after almost a year of preparations, and last night discovered Red Maples scattered all over the property. I swear I checked for them when we moved in last summer and identified the trees as something else, but there's no other way to see them now, they are definitely RED!

Dr.O, your article doesn't definitively say they must be removed, but I think I know what must be done. I do however have to ask if anything new has developed or been discovered when it comes to horses ingesting the leaves? (I know I'm wishful thinking now).

They represent about every third or fourth tree of what we've left uncleared in the pastures! This is going to be a royal pain—I think I'm being tested.
Member:
scooter

Posted on Thursday, Apr 19, 2007 - 3:33 pm:

cp are you SURE they are red maples? Sugar maples can have red leaves in the spring and fall. Around here anyway the red maples are almost a purple color....very very deep red. Before going thru all the hastle of cutting them down could you check with your extension office to make sure that's what they are? or google red maple and sugar maple images it might help.

My horses strip the bark off of sugar maples....gotta have their sugar fix, which isn't good either.
Member:
zarr

Posted on Thursday, Apr 19, 2007 - 7:11 pm:

cp, had red maples planted in my pasture at one point then found out BAD trees so out they came, sigh! Now my neighbor has his so in fall I pray for the wind to blow his leaves away and if not I'm out picking them up one at a time! Good luck and I share your paranoia! Cindy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Apr 19, 2007 - 9:37 pm:

The article represents the most current knowledge cp. Certainly before doing anything you should be sure they are red maples. We have both sugar and red maple on our property and this time of year it is not clear which is which. However I do not recommend the routine removal of red maples. It is important to be sure there is always plenty of forage available and most important down limbs removed immediately. Following these rules problems are very rare and there are many pastures in our area that have dozens, and there are a few in mine. Of course I cannot guarantee something won't happen and if it is going to cause you to loose sleep, have them removed.
DrO
Member:
zarr

Posted on Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - 11:57 am:

Dr. O it was my vet who said mine should go would of loved to have kept them, darn. At least now won't worry about neighbors so much! Cindy
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - 6:25 pm:

Here's an image of the culprit. Would love to hear someone tell me they're not them...?
red maple leaves
Member:
zarr

Posted on Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - 7:08 pm:

cp, they look like mine, sorry. Cindy
Member:
scooter

Posted on Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - 7:33 pm:

cp here is a good description of both....with pics, maybe that will help you https://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://web.vet.cornell.edu/CVM/HANDOUTS/p lants/sugar%2520maple.jpg&imgrefurl=https://web.vet.cornell.edu/CVM/HANDOUTS/plan ts/MAPLE.html&h=480&w=720&sz=104&hl=en&start=19&sig2=_XyC5msOSHqOCrWWgIf_jA&tbni d=2smpVJOZbMqPzM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=140&ei=00wpRoabFYKeiQGF2Oy4Cg&prev=/images%3Fq%3D sugar%2Bmaple%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Member:
zarr

Posted on Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - 9:27 pm:

Really great info Diane thank you very much. Cindy
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Friday, Apr 20, 2007 - 10:54 pm:

Thanks for the link Diane, and for the sympathies Cindy! There's about a 1/2 acre section that will be impossible to remove them from, so I had a fence guy out this morning to quote fencing it off. He said he had a friend who had some trees cut by a utility company and they left all the cuttings out in the pasture, and sure enough there was red maple in there and one of the horses ate it. He said when they did the blood test it was black.

He also pointed out a cherry tree I should get rid of--still looking up that one.

We left the entire perimeter along the fence-line treed so the horses would have a place to get shade, chew, and rub their butts on. I guess for the first time I'm glad I only have a 3 acre pasture to deal with!
Member:
scooter

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 6:33 am:

I know how you feel cp, I discovered choke cherry trees had taken over a fenceline in my horses field last year. I fenced it off and sprayed them all last summer with 24d and they all died. We cut them down and burned them this fall. We also put a product called toridon on the stumps which keeps them from sprouting suckers and growing again.
Good Luck with bringing your horses home!
Member:
canderso

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 8:08 am:

cp, if it makes you feel better, you may be doing something good from an eco-preservation perspective.

I had an arborist come through my property last year and he told me that red maples, which are native to North America, are starting down the path of being an endangered species.

Apparently foreign species (like Norway Maple, Crimson King Maple, and that ilk) are rapidly overtaking the red maples' natural forest areas. The Aborist strongly urged me to cut down every norway maple on the property and give every red maple and sugar maple special care and nurturing to foster its survival.

I know that doesn't help pay the bills, but at least you are helping a bit...
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 8:25 am:

I am really cringing here to hear about cutting down beautiful trees. I know that keeping toxic stuff from horses is important but so are trees. We harvest our trees and it takes so many years to get a tree suitable for lumber. I hope if you do decide to cut them down, that you talk with a knowledgeable logger. Don't know how it works in your area, but a logger would be able to tell you which trees are ready to harvest and maybe you can leave some smaller ones to grow? If you have enough pasture/feed available I personally wouldn't worry about it I guess.

Our woods are full of Maples. I think they are only Sugar Maples though. I planted a Crimson King and Norway in front of our house like 12 years ago and I am still waiting for them to provide shade for the house.

Just something else to think about.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 10:23 am:

Using the red hue of the twigs (the woody part that connects the leaf to the tree also known as the periole) they do look like red maple.
DrO
Member:
zarr

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 11:18 am:

Boy do I hear the message don't cut down trees! that is why it "killed" me. I have gift trees all over that mother nature gave even russian olives that people consider trash trees. Angie J. I so envey you with your trees.Grew up in Michigan when we came to the EVERGREEN state thought lots of trees Yeah! Well the tallest thing in my world is a five foot sagebrush! Whoppeee. So I agree, don't cut if you don't have to, but I have this horse if it can happen it will! Earth day Sunday plant a tree ..... Cindy
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 8:07 pm:

Thanks for confirming DrO.

We just spent the entire day murdering trees (sorry everyone). I feel pretty bad about it, but I'd rather have dead trees than dead horses.

The change in scene is kind of dramatic. The red maples were definitely the majority, but a lot of scraggly looking sugar maples still exist. Maybe they'll have a chance to flourish now. I must have taken out well in the triple digits including all the babies, and still have a few big ones to take down tomorrow, which is really tough cause I'm sure they're older than me. Guess I won't have that pretty view in the Fall anymore either.

We will be re-planting horse friendly trees in abundance (hopefully they won't get squashed), but I sure hope all the other species left in the pasture aren't cherry!
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 8:08 pm:

Oh yeah DrO, how long do the leaves stay toxic for? Just wondering about left-over debris that I might miss.
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 - 8:37 pm:

I just saw that today is Earth Day! Perfect. I'm definitely going someplace hot when I die.
Member:
erika

Posted on Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 - 3:43 pm:

Unfortunately, CP, the leaves are most toxic when shrivelled. Be sure and rake before returning horses.
Between Wild Cherry, Red Maple, and Black Walnuts, I'd be living in a prairie if I got rid of all the toxic trees! Even heard something about Locust, which is the only thing left after the aforementioned. I have plenty of pasture, though, and in twenty years here, we haven't had a problem...just lucky, I guess.

Good luck, and know that the new trees will be a gift to future generations!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Apr 23, 2007 - 7:10 am:

cp, I do not know of any studies that have looked at how long they remain toxic.
DrO
Member:
cpacer

Posted on Monday, Apr 23, 2007 - 10:12 am:

Now that I'm aware of these tress I notice they are all over the trails I ride on too, and my horse loves taking mouthfuls as we go along. Glad the live leaves at least aren't toxic although I won't let him eat them anymore. I have no doubt that he would be eating the dead leaves if I left the trees. I've seen him eat many a dead leaf--guess they were another kind thankfully.
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