I planted a holly hedge thinking the neighbouring cows wouldn't eat it. Wrong. The new shoots are very tender and juicy apparently so I ended up with a short, fat holly hedge. We've now erected a barrier of metal mesh that builders use for reinforcing concrete and the holly is finally starting to grow upwards.
We have horses in a paddock across the road and they have eaten all one side of an abies Xmas tree I planted 4' from the fence and also went for an oak. They don't seem to eat the odd hawthorn that's growing along the stream or a couple of native sambucus on the field edge. Hawthorn does make a fast growing and wildlife friendly hedge. You need to keep it trimmed to help thicken it.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
As HCFarley has said, it's the responsibility of the owner of the land to see that boundaries are in good condition, not Luchris's. A little investigation to determine the owner, and perhaps a small polite conversation might help.
Obelixx is right- livestock rarely do much damage to Hawthorn - that's why it's the hedge of choice for 'em! A bit of evergreen stuff on the garden side will blank out the ugly views all year round and give the best solution. Not too late to get bare root hawthorn either (inexpensive) and make a start on your project Luchris
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
1. Have you approached the local District Council for advice as to whether the rubbish constitutes unlicenced tipping?
2. Is the barbed wire fence on the legal boundary and who is responsible for that boundary?
3. Do you have enough space in your garden to sacrifice a couple of metres on your side of the barbed wire and then plant your hedge out of the horses' reach? This may not seem fair to you, but you may spend years tussling with your neighbours. Make sure you leave access to get to the barbed wire to maintain it.
I think you probably need to establish who's responsible for the boundary fence in question. If you have any paperwork relating to your property, the boundary ownership/responsibility might be shown like this:
which means that whoever owns the land above the line is the "owner" of the boundary. If the "T" were upside down and below the line, the owner of the land below the line would be responsible. In other words, whoever owns the land on which the "T" lies is responsible for the associated boundary.
Sometimes things get a bit complicated. For example, it's often the case that in a road with a row/line of properties, each property-owner is responsible for two of the rear boundaries. One way of explaining this is that if the rear garden is a simple rectangular shape, the owner would be responsible for two of the boundaries e.g. left-hand side and rear (imagine "L" upside down). It's best not to to assume ownership of a boundary because sometimes "boundary" can equare to "minefield".
Of course things aren't always clear-cut! However, what you can do (if you've got enough room) is create another fence inside the existing boundary, and attach some horse-deterrent electric fence-type gadget. In this case you'd need something like a car battery in a waterproof container, if it's too far away to connect to the mains electricity supply. I think I mentioned in my earlier post that it's probably best to go and get some ideas/advice from a local agricultural supplier/merchant. A bit of googling beforehand will probably help too!
Whilst there are lots of opinions in the posts above there are no facts. Where in law does it say that the cattle/horse owner is responsible for stopping their cattle/horse eating hedging, plants etc that are on the other side of the fence.
Don't think it does - but it is the cattle/horse owner responsibility to keep his animals in the field so he'd be daft to let them eat holes in the hedge and walk through, therefore it's up to him/her to put up stock-proof fencing to keep his animals in the field.
It's also just courteous and part of the give and take of living in a rural area not to plant toxic plants alongside the boundary of a field which has stock in it, and if you want to grow a particular plant or hedge and avoid it being eaten, then you plant it within your own property and out of reach of the stock in question.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
On a bad year when fresh grass is scarce horses may eat just about anything, but the one thing my greedy ponies never touched is elder, which is fortunate since it happens to be one of my favourite shrubs-trees, and it is neither poisonous nor dangerously spiky. I think it is the smell that puts them off. Just a thought.
I think you're being a little unfair, DEBCON. What we do here is to edge towards a solution through discussion. You're right to say that there is no such law, but there is, on the other hand, the principle of being considerate to one's neighbours. I'd be as embarrassed as hell if my animals chewed someone's garden to pieces, but as others have said there is the simple solution of the horse-owner putting in a back-fence to prevent that happening.
Posts
I planted a holly hedge thinking the neighbouring cows wouldn't eat it. Wrong. The new shoots are very tender and juicy apparently so I ended up with a short, fat holly hedge. We've now erected a barrier of metal mesh that builders use for reinforcing concrete and the holly is finally starting to grow upwards.
We have horses in a paddock across the road and they have eaten all one side of an abies Xmas tree I planted 4' from the fence and also went for an oak. They don't seem to eat the odd hawthorn that's growing along the stream or a couple of native sambucus on the field edge. Hawthorn does make a fast growing and wildlife friendly hedge. You need to keep it trimmed to help thicken it.
As HCFarley has said, it's the responsibility of the owner of the land to see that boundaries are in good condition, not Luchris's. A little investigation to determine the owner, and perhaps a small polite conversation might help.
Obelixx is right- livestock rarely do much damage to Hawthorn - that's why it's the hedge of choice for 'em! A bit of evergreen stuff on the garden side will blank out the ugly views all year round and give the best solution. Not too late to get bare root hawthorn either (inexpensive) and make a start on your project Luchris
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
You could get a mix of the dark pink and white flowering hawthorn
1. Have you approached the local District Council for advice as to whether the rubbish constitutes unlicenced tipping?
2. Is the barbed wire fence on the legal boundary and who is responsible for that boundary?
3. Do you have enough space in your garden to sacrifice a couple of metres on your side of the barbed wire and then plant your hedge out of the horses' reach? This may not seem fair to you, but you may spend years tussling with your neighbours. Make sure you leave access to get to the barbed wire to maintain it.
I think you probably need to establish who's responsible for the boundary fence in question. If you have any paperwork relating to your property, the boundary ownership/responsibility might be shown like this:
_____________________T_____________________________
which means that whoever owns the land above the line is the "owner" of the boundary. If the "T" were upside down and below the line, the owner of the land below the line would be responsible. In other words, whoever owns the land on which the "T" lies is responsible for the associated boundary.
Sometimes things get a bit complicated. For example, it's often the case that in a road with a row/line of properties, each property-owner is responsible for two of the rear boundaries. One way of explaining this is that if the rear garden is a simple rectangular shape, the owner would be responsible for two of the boundaries e.g. left-hand side and rear (imagine "L" upside down). It's best not to to assume ownership of a boundary because sometimes "boundary" can equare to "minefield".
Of course things aren't always clear-cut! However, what you can do (if you've got enough room) is create another fence inside the existing boundary, and attach some horse-deterrent electric fence-type gadget. In this case you'd need something like a car battery in a waterproof container, if it's too far away to connect to the mains electricity supply. I think I mentioned in my earlier post that it's probably best to go and get some ideas/advice from a local agricultural supplier/merchant. A bit of googling beforehand will probably help too!
sorry - a few typos in the above reply. I haven't yet discovered a way of editing after posting. Anyone know if that's possible?
Whilst there are lots of opinions in the posts above there are no facts. Where in law does it say that the cattle/horse owner is responsible for stopping their cattle/horse eating hedging, plants etc that are on the other side of the fence.
Don't think it does - but it is the cattle/horse owner responsibility to keep his animals in the field so he'd be daft to let them eat holes in the hedge and walk through, therefore it's up to him/her to put up stock-proof fencing to keep his animals in the field.
It's also just courteous and part of the give and take of living in a rural area not to plant toxic plants alongside the boundary of a field which has stock in it, and if you want to grow a particular plant or hedge and avoid it being eaten, then you plant it within your own property and out of reach of the stock in question.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
On a bad year when fresh grass is scarce horses may eat just about anything, but the one thing my greedy ponies never touched is elder, which is fortunate since it happens to be one of my favourite shrubs-trees, and it is neither poisonous nor dangerously spiky. I think it is the smell that puts them off. Just a thought.
I think you're being a little unfair, DEBCON. What we do here is to edge towards a solution through discussion. You're right to say that there is no such law, but there is, on the other hand, the principle of being considerate to one's neighbours. I'd be as embarrassed as hell if my animals chewed someone's garden to pieces, but as others have said there is the simple solution of the horse-owner putting in a back-fence to prevent that happening.