Hi,
I’m just outside Atlanta and we cleared over 100 trees a few years ago. We have plenty of really tall trees (100’). I’d like to plant some shorter trees between 2 pastures and still have them provide some shade for the horses. I have long lists of what not to plant, just not what works really well. The previous owner had some tall trees (that were diseased) and some crepe myrtles that were taken out with the pines. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
That is going to depend on how you are going to protect the trees from the horses. There are quite a few smaller understory trees but as I learned - my horses enjoyed gnawing the bark off of them or ate all the young limbs despite having lots of grass and hay available. About the only trees they didn’t destroy were pine trees and I was able to get willow oaks to grow but I had to put a hot wire fence around them until they got big. Willow oaks are not small trees, but they grow fast as do tulip poplars. But even those fell victim to the beavers when they were small. I really love the looks of magnolias, but they didn’t last long after the horses found them.
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ditch willows are nice if you have a drainage place that is always moist.
redbud trees
dogwood trees
servicebury trees
hawthorns
sassafras
and if you could tolerate another few large trees, Pecan trees are great! They are strong, squirrels and deer and birds love them, (so do my mules and sheep)
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I’ve done river birch which grow quickly. Not sure if they grow in GA.
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Dogwoods or Redbuds are secondary growth trees that can grow under primary growth trees
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One of the great things about redbuds is they are one of the first trees to get color in the spring. Cheap and native. I don’t think there is any data about horses having an issue with them and they are generally regarded as safe.
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I have lots of red buds here and they are beautiful in the spring. But any attempt to plant them in the pasture resulted in the trees being pulled up by the horses or the limbs chewed off. Ditto dogwoods although anthracnose really decimated them here at my house. Maybe you are not housing The Destructo Twins and your horses will leave them alone. I would not plant them on a grand scale until I saw that your horses would leave them alone. Or plant them in groups and hot wire off the area. I did plant fringe trees that have gotten big and they are a lovely understory tree but I had to hot wire them until they grew big.
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they are native here, and pop up EVERYwhere. Horses love the dogwood leave and the redbud leaves. So do my sheep. But there are so many seedlings that they can’t get them all!
Don’t know about GA, but here in Missouri, our Conservation department offers seedlings at low cost every Sept first (and they run out very quickly!) I usually order between 50 and 100.
Here is the link (i think they ship out of state)
https://mdc12.mdc.mo.gov/Applications/TreeSeedling/
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I have volunteer redbuds everywhere here from the ones I planted years ago. Except in the 15 acres that are horse pasture. Those areas have none to be found. Maybe you have more acreage and things do not get discovered and destroyed. The only trees popping up are privet. Even the horses cannot destroy all of that plague.
I have two pecan trees I need to plant to make shade in one pasture. Not even digging a hole until I have hot wire up. I had visions of understory trees under my cedar trees. That dream didn’t last long when I saw what the horses were destroying. Too much work to plant, water and then see chewed up.
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Your county extension office will have great advice on beneficial tree species that are hardy in your area.
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Born and raised and educated in Atlanta, so I vote for dogwoods, the perfect Southern mid-tier tree. Whatever else you choose, avoid another Southern classic, the magnolia. Their dropped leaves are a pain to remove.
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If not in a pasture since these produce nuts that many animals eat and will get fat might look at the new American Chestnut as it is being reintroduced into Georgia
The Georgia Chapter was founded to bring about the restoration of the American chestnut tree as a prominent part of Georgia forests by assisting the national foundation in its propagation efforts, by promoting public awareness through education and by supporting the scientific research efforts of TACF directed at restoring American chestnuts.
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Here in New York, I was advised to remove any black cherry trees…
[Toxic Trees: Keep Your Horses Safe at Pasture (equusmagazine.com)](https://equusmagazine.com/news/eqtoxic436-10129/#:~:text=Equally%20toxic%20are%20cherry%20(black,a%20few%20hours%20of%20ingestion.)
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