Eaten down....again...

secuono · Mar 7, 2014

So....the pear tree was eaten down again to the same level as last year by the horses...We had a lot of snow, electric fence stopped working and they decided the tree was a perfect snack. :/
I don't know what to do now. I'll get pics soon. But this is pissing me off! Tree was nice and tall, good branches, now back to square one with choosing which to let grow and what not to. Worse, I don't know how to choose from the sticks that are left. They go out horizontally and 2ft long.
I hate this winter!!
What to do, you guys??

Ridgerunner · Mar 7, 2014

I may change my mind with photos but probably do nothing. See how it comes back before you do anything drastic.

Maybe some passive protection, not requiring anything to be active. Set three posts around it and string some wire to form a protective triangle fence. I did something similar for mine because of the deer. I had to use welded wire. You could use cable for horses.

secuono · Mar 7, 2014

Yea, redid the fence way further, so they should never be able to reach it again.

baymule · Mar 7, 2014

So sorry about your tree. I had some nice trees on the 16 acres where we keep the horses. When the sap was moving in the fall, they gathered around trees like 1,000 pound giant beavers and stripped the bark off as high as they could reach. Naturally, the trees died. I even chewed some bark myself, to see what was so good about it. I spit :tongue

it out.

TheSeedObsesser · Mar 7, 2014

I don't have much experience in orchard trees at all. Trees, especially pears and apples, are tough creatures - leave it and it may surprise you.

TheSeedObsesser · Mar 7, 2014

baymule said:
So sorry about your tree. I had some nice trees on the 16 acres where we keep the horses. When the sap was moving in the fall, they gathered around trees like 1,000 pound giant beavers and stripped the bark off as high as they could reach. Naturally, the trees died. I even chewed some bark myself, to see what was so good about it. I spit it out.

Beavermule, bark never tastes good. Not even from a Sugar Maple. The only two barks that I recommend are Slippery Elm and willow for their medicinal properties, in tea form. The Slippery Elm tea tastes like gritty oatmeal water, if you want some you'll have to go to Canada. :plbb