Read the Latin names of your trees, ESPECIALLY the Maples. Acer Rubrum is Red Maple,
though it goes by a lot of other names like Red Sunset. Dried leaves from this tree are HIGHLY toxic
to horses. Only takes a couple to kill a horse in a VERY short time. Not sure effects of
Red Maple on cattle, but you could check it out with a search. The Acer Rubrum/Red Maple
is one of the MOST POPULAR maples planted, because of their fall color. Cheap to buy
at places selling trees, very hardy, survives pretty well no matter how badly you treat it.
Which is unfortunate for horse owners. Labels require the Latin name, so you can compare
different trees with a "pretty" name like the Maples. Latin name stays consistant on all
the trees of that kind.
Silver Maples grow fast, but they are trashy in that limbs break easily, seeds sprout all
over the place. Most have several trunks going up from the base. Probably won't live
very long, at least they don't do very well locally in MI. Not sure of your location.
For the windbreak planting, you may want to do two lines, with a tree spaced between
two trees in the other line. That way as they mature, the second line fills the holes of
the other line for a more solid windbreak. I would plant same trees in one line, with
another variety in the second line, so they should grow at a similar rate. Also if one kind
of trees get sick, the other trees shouldn't get the disease. Blue Spruce are starting to
have issues in some places around here. My brother lost a big old tree, all the needles
dried up and fell off. Still trying to save the others in his yard. You might check out
Concolor Firs, getting more popular around here. Some have the silvery blue of the
Spruces, but the needles are very soft to the touch. Very hardy, handles wind and drought
well, since they are from the mountains of the western USA. Gets even bigger than Blue
Spruce as they age.
Please plan on watering these young trees for at least the first year or two, so they get a
good start. If you don't water, you will probably lose most or all of them. You will also want to
weed whack around them, so grasses don't choke them out or take all the sunshine. No
grass cover also keeps the trunks exposed, so maybe the Voles, rabbits, won't chew off the
bark sitting out in the open during winter.
Horses and cattle around here, DO EAT the acorns. I alternate days, so no horses get two
days of stuffing themselves on acorns. Horses do run right to the big tree to eat acorns before
they graze! It is a White Oak, but most horses will do some snacking on any Oak acorns in the
fields, then go to grazing the grass. Some piggy horses will get sick on acorns if they have a
choice.
