Horse News & Views - June 2002

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ontario Association of Equine Practitioners

• Spring and fall are times to think about planting new trees for shade and wind protection. There are many trees that are known to be safe for use by the virtue that there have been no reported incidences of livestock poisonings when they are present in and around pastures. Moist drained soil will support the growth of sugar maple, soft maple, ash, elm, trembling and large-tooth aspen, sycamore, beech, honey-locust (not black locust), northern catalpa, hickory, balsam fir, white and red spruce, Norway spruce, white cedar, eastern hemlock, hawthorn, and Osage-Orange. Dry soil, which is well-drained because it is deep sand or gravelly, is especially suited to elm, sweet chestnut, northern catalpa, Russian-Olive, Osage-Orange, Colorado spruce and staghorn sumac (upright, red, cone-shaped, seed head).
  To grow these trees successfully, fences are required to exclude animals. Livestock can trample young trees, crush shallow tree roots, browse on the trunks and branches and cause rubbing injury from those animals that like to scratch. For more information, refer to the information sheet Trees for Livestock Pastures which will soon be available on the OMAF website.
• Recent farm investigations revealed occurrences of parasites on well-managed farms. Farm managers are reminded not to get too complacent about horse parasites. When animals are dewormed, monitor fecals by testing samples 10-14 days following each treatment. Horses under one year of age should be wormed every two months starting at two months of age. A slow rotation program is recommended. This consists of using a wormer(s) from within the same chemical class throughout a year, then switching to a different chemical class the next year.