Horse Friendly Hedge with Wind Protection

[Arzny]

In a series of truly unfortunate events, our neighbors have clear cut their acreage. This means that wind is ripping through our farm. It blew the barn door off the hinges a few days ago. Jump standards are flying. It’s truly awful.

In trying to think of ways to address this, I think a hedge might be an answer? We are in the Midwest so it would need to be hardy, and I really only want native greenery. I’m tempted to plant hedges around the entire farm for privacy and an extra barrier since we are next to a busy road. I have one paddock that gets quite wet, so a plant that soaks up water would be great too. Any suggestions?

[Simkie]

We planted austree willows as a snow barrier at our place in MN and they were incredible. Not a native, I don’t think, it’s a newer hybrid, iirc? But if you need something that will grow ASAP to improve things now, especially where it’s wet, they sure fit the bill.

[Arzny]

Oh those look nice and seem inexpensive!

Secondary question - is it dumb to plant them in a way that they’ll eventually short the electric fence? If the hedge is well enough established it should be okay? I hate the electric anyways.

[Simkie]

Hmmmmm I think that would depend on your horses and your dedication to creating and maintaining the hedge. From what I understand there’s a lot more to building a hedge than just the planting. The willows make a great windbreak and privacy screen but aren’t a fence.

Here’s some info on how hedges are made. You could certainly incorporate willows into this.

https://www.hedgelaying.org.uk/Default.aspx

[endlessclimb]

Will it short the fence at a termination point, or mid-fence?

[Arzny]

Mid-fence. Though I reckon if we get to that point I’ll unplug it and just have wire with no electric.

[endlessclimb]

Get a big enough energizer and it won’t care about being shorted.

[Arzny]

Ha - I’m slowly getting rid of it as funds allow. I hate electric for babies. Trying to avoid upgrading it when it’s going to go!

[endlessclimb]

Ha, and I love it. Teaches them early to get off the fence.

Sounds like a good excuse to upgrade!

[beowulf]

I really sympathize with you because I am in a similar situation. Our neighbor razed their back 40 (mature woodland) two years ago, which our farm abuts - and omg, the wind! I really took for granted how calm it was on our property. Now it rips through with currents so strong it lifts the blankets right off the horses’ back if they don’t have a butt strap in place.

I saw this graph a while back and it immediately came to mind with yours (and my) situation:

You will want to search “shelterbelt” and “windbreak trees” for ideas. My understanding after talking to some local landscaping friends is you really want more than one layer - a hedge won’t do much. Start with shrubbery or dense understory for the first layer, and taller trees as the second to lift wind current and bring it up and over your property.

It’s not cheap, which is why I haven’t done it yet. I’d also need something that could live close to a huge stone wall - another shortcoming to living in New England is the difficulty of digging deep enough to actually plant something. Too much ledge here for much.

[goodhors]

You will want local information from your Extension service, so trees, shrubs planted are better suited to grow in your area. Things that lose leaves in winter offer very little protection. As mentioned, planting layers, helps more than a single row. You may need several rows to eventually get the sheltering effect you want.

Willows are quick growing but weak wood in strong winds. With height and full branching, they break in high winds. I am trying to get husband to top-off our willows, preventing future breakage (ice)across the fences. No wind protection in winter with naked branches. Safe for horses chewing it.

Whatever you plant will still NEED fencing to contain the animals. You can widen the planting strip for layer planting and to prevent it growing thru new fence as you replace the electric. I don’t know any animal-proof plants to serve as fence. You don’t want big thorny things that will rip the animals open traveling thru. Horses DO NOT learn from the experience! You can hate electric but it needs to be replaced with something else to keep horses home. Our baby horses learned that fences bite. They never bothered hot fences again! One of those tough life lessons a horse HAS to get understood.

There are miles of hedges on the Great Plains of the Dakotas. Wind breaks. Not sure what shrubs are used, if they shed leaves in winter. They may have special lighting (high lumens) needs to grow well. The hedges seemed very green and healthy when we drove thru the Dakotas years ago. We were headed north into Canada to pick up horses over 4th of July. No fences along the highway, just crops, hay, by the hedges. Worth asking about the shrubs used.

[Arzny]

My question about the hedge/fencing is that I spent time in England where horses were contained only by the hedge. Obviously these were years old hedges and well maintained, but no other fencing was used - unless you count the board that hedge had grown over and taken over.

I am fine with electric for young horses. I’m not cool with a day old foal getting zapped, which is why we are replacing it with four board as we go.

[Arzny]

I was very spoiled with aluminum jump standards a few years ago. Now I’m wishing I had heavy wooden standards! I’m hoping as the neighbors build it might help offer a wind break too, in addition to whatever we do to mitigate the problem.

The wind is truly like no other - you cannot explain it until you experience it.

[Simkie]

@Arzny

My question about the hedge/fencing is that I spent time in England where horses were contained only by the hedge. Obviously these were years old hedges and well maintained, but no other fencing was used - unless you count the board that hedge had grown over and taken over.

Sure, you can do that. It’s a lot of work to set up and involves a lot more than just planting. They include several different plant types, and require regular maintenance.

Here’s some discussion on US plants to use.

https://permies.com/t/180956/wildlife/Creating-British-style-hedgerows-American

(Skip the yew, it’s so incredibly toxic.)

That link above has some info on building the hedge itself. A lot of pictures of various methods here.

https://www.hedgelaying.org.uk/pg/info/styles.aspx

(Midland Bullock looks most promising, with the specific mention of keeping in horses.)

A lot more work and likely a lot more money than building a four board and putting in a wind break, but it would certainly look pretty cool.

[Aussie_2020]

Hedges and tree rows take up a lot of pasture space, but if you have the room they look good. I’ve noticed in several western states they are using tree breaks instead of snow fencing. I don’t know the difference in initial costs but I think the trees look nicer, probably cost less in the long run, and give back to the environment.

[LCDR]

I’d be inclined to use evergreens, like cedars. No leaves to clean up. I am in a different climate zone and I used Carolina Sapphire Cedars. They grow really quickly, around 5 feet per year, both height and width, and mine have gone from 2 gallon pot size to this size in four years. They are just behind the fence to the right of the picture, taken last Christmas.

[NaturallyHappy]

Wow! Impressive!

[Jarpur]

Also known as an Arizona Cypress cultivar, and we have them at our place. You’ve been very fortunate – ours don’t grow that fast, but we’ve been in a severe drought for a very long time.

I’ve read descriptions of them as deer-resistant but, at least here, the young ones do need protection from deer (of which there are a tremendous number locally), and even the large ones may lose lower branches from browsing. Otherwise, they’re pretty bulletproof, and their color is an interesting addition to the landscape.

[Pico_Banana]

When we bought our place 4 years ago, the previous owners had allowed the three rail wood fence to fall into disrepair and let nature take over. So I inherited a “living fence” made up of multi flora rose, bittersweet, and other weeds. Not that I suggest using these invasive species, but maybe something similar exists that isn’t invasive. It certainly was enough to keep horses in - it was at least three feet wide and quite dense!

[B_and_B]

It depends so much on your location for species; but you want certain characteristics for a hedge:
Ideally something that will sucker and tends towards multi stemmed for forming a dense hedge. Not toxic to horses. Not going to go over 20 feet. Not invasive. Unless you like plants not something that needs regular treatment to behave that way (some willows, generally the basket willows, make awesome hedges…if you coppice them every few years).
I do not recommend a monoculture hedge, we have too many plant diseases to risk that. For example, who saw beech leaf disease coming? It showed up out of nowhere in 2012, got to my state in 2022, and we are on track to have a massive die off of beech by 2026.
My dry lot is on the top of a hill facing due west with no higher hill top for the next ten miles and no trees. The wind screams in from the west. I have a highly effective shelter break made up of hawthorn, crabapple, lilac, redbud (accidental), sumac, willow, and mulberry. The hawthorn is the original component and most effective, very dense even after the leaves drop. It really does break the wind right next to it. The horses do reach over and trim it… I like the deciduous nature of it because it doesn’t block the sun in the winter, but is dense enough to slow the wind.
I also am establishing some Osage Orange on a property line next to a road, the original barbed wire fence.