Horses and avocadoes

**Andy Mac** · 22nd October 2007, 02:03 PM

Hi there,
Just thought someone out there might have had experience with horses and avocadoes on the same block. Basically, do horses eat the fruit, or the trees themselves?
Reason for the question, the neighbour along our western fence line runs horses, and due to poor seasons they have picked the block bare and started debarking gum trees. As they have recently built close to the fence we want to plant it up and screen them...after all you don't move onto acreage to be looking into someones backyard!

Yesterday we were given some self-sown avocado trees from a plantation nearby, with potential for many more, and have planted them along said boundary. Now, will the horses reach over and pick the seedling down, will they get poisoned, or will the fruit get a hiding in 7yrs time?!

Thanks for reading

**frog's wife** · 22nd October 2007, 10:57 PM

Usually horses debarking trees is a sign that they're deficient in a mineral. Or as there is such a ripper drought, just bloody hungry.

Avocado trees can cause problems to horses. They are listed as possibly causing dullness, colic and heart failure. The fruit, as I understand are ok, it's the leaves that will cause the probs.

I'd be planting the young trees well out of their reach if I was you but planting them regardless. If they reach over into your property then it is the neighbor's problem. All he needs to do is run a hotwire at chest height for the horse the the beast will have his reach somewhat restricted.

Sonja

**echnidna** · 22nd October 2007, 11:07 PM

horses even eat treated pine fence posts

**weisyboy** · 24th October 2007, 09:08 PM

get the horses away from the avocados!!!!!!!

they are poison.

there are 2 types of avacados one type are from south america and one from africa and the ones from america sutch as hass.

we had horses eat leaves of our tree there heads swelled up and ther eyes just about poped out of there heads "literaly" it was terrable.

please keep horses away from avacado trees and all fruit trees in general.

see here

**Burnsy** · 24th October 2007, 09:43 PM

Andy, don't know anything about horses but want to pick your brain about the avocados

Do you know if these self seeded avocados will fruit or do you need to get grafted ones if you want fruit?

**Andy Mac** · 24th October 2007, 10:44 PM

Ok thanks for the warning, esp. weisyboy! I had an inkling something was up and did a bit more searching on the net, some pretty serious vet reports about it.
I'll move the seedlings this weekend and put something else in the holes. Maybe tea tree, something stinky they won't like.
Burnsy, about the self sown type, apparently they'll be ok fruiters, but delayed, like 7 years. The grafted ones probably have a head start. The root stock is unknown, from another farm, but nowdays on a plantation such details need to be known for (whatever reason), which is why we got given them.

Cheers,

**weisyboy** · 25th October 2007, 08:44 PM

avacados grown from seed will thake over 5 years to fruit and then the first few crops are not mutsh good.

a stalk grafted onto a young rootstock will fruit that year thow not verry well.

an air budded rootstock will fruit that year but will not live long.

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