Tree Trouble!!

Bendihorse

Two of my horses decided to attack the trees along my parents drive way :eek:

They are roughly 8 years old mapel trees and were in full flourish when the attack took place. One of them is particularly bad, the mare got her teeth in behind the bark somehow and stripped off right down to the roots leaving roughly 3-4inch strip of the inside of the tree exposed... I will try and add a pic of the damage this afternoon.

Is there anything can be done to save this tree? Any advice greatly appreciated as it really would be a crying shame for this beautiful tree to die as a result of something so simple

Irish Gardener

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Nature often has a way of working these things out itself, but do the following if you want to promote healing.
Using a sharp knife trim around the scrape removing loose or dead bark to good tissue on each side. To help the movement of water and nutrients around the damaged area, it is best for this trimming to take on an oval shape or elongated circle.
Something like an egg standing on end. Look at old healing wounds on other trees and see how this shape forms naturally.
Regular watering and fertilising will be required until the tree recovers or fails. Also be aware that the tree may lose branches due to shock, so don't sit beneath it in the upcoming months.
Good luck with it, Bendihorse

Bendihorse

Heres a picture of the trees... two of them are VERY bad I fear the worst and its such a bloody shame!! So mad at the horses but of course its wasted energy. Theres another question i have to ask now, what is she lacking in thats making her attack the trees? I wouldn't have thought that was natural behaviour for horses...

These are all taken of one of the trees:







This is another one, a beech tree

Nonmonotonic

I think both trees will be OK as they do not appear to be ringed i.e. bark stripped completely round circumference. The second one may be under more pressure due to more bark being removed. Its like if half the blood supply to you body was cut off, one or two bits might drop off!

I would suggest maybe to use insulating tape and wrap completely round the tree at intervals to prevent any more bark lifting off. The more bark you retain the less will have to grow and less evaporation of the sap.

In professional forestry , deer are a major problem as they completely strip the park of young trees and kill them. Thats why you see the tree guards ( plastic tubes) to protect them. Also there are products that when sprayed onto the bark deter the deer ( may be useful to keep horses away without harming them ). Example or example