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["Naomi" <dragon-star@cableone.net>]

Title: RE: [NAFEX] Currants and Horses

You have shorthorns!? Are they beef shorthorns, polled? I am interested in that breed.  Please write to me. dragon-star@cableone.net

Naomi

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Brungardt, Sam
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2004 11:21 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: RE: [NAFEX] Currants and Horses

My experience with wild currants of the same species as Crandall (R. odoratum) down in west-central Kansas is that most beef cattle will not browse much on this species unless the pasture is under intense grazing pressure.  This was true with our Shorthorns and Herefords, but not with the Charolais, which pretty much browsed or grazed on anything that would stand still, including the wild currants. -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA zone 4b)

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Olenio
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2004 12:11 PM
To: halgren@msu.edu; North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Currants and Horses

Hi,

Rabbits chomp my apple trees, but leave the Crandall currants, Red Lake
currants,  Cherry currants, Titania currants, and jostaberries alone.

I wonder if grazing cattle would ignore them in the pasture too.  Though
the fruit may attract them, if the foliage doesn't.

My currents are already in fruit, and the HEAVY rain of last week, beat
them to the ground.  Going to be  a tough summer for mowing.

Later,
Tom

Rob Halgren wrote:

> Well, my neighbor's 15 horses discovered that the electric fence was
> grounded out the other day, and mowed a fair amount of my yard.
> Normally I wouldn't have a problem with that, but they did take a few
> apricots and peaches down to the ground.   Interestingly, they very
> carefully left the currants (red and black) intact.  Did a better job
> of mowing around them than I do...  Maybe they thought 'currants' were
> 'currents', and stayed away.
>
> So, is this phenomenon repeatable?  I'd like to plant some low growing
> plants along the horse fence, but horses are worse than deer.
> Especially when the grass in the pasture is in short supply.  The
> currants would be a perfect solution.
>
> If it is a perfect solution, where is a good place to purchase some
> newer, improved varieties of currants that would hold up to a central
> michigan winter?  In batches of 25 - 50, perhaps.
>
> Thanks
>
> Rob

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