2023-12-25 05:00:00
In order to warn of the danger that sycamore maples represent for horses, Thibault and Olivier contacted us via our orange Alert Us button. Owner of several equines, the latter must face a terrible problem: they die when they eat the fruits of sycamore maples planted near his enclosure. Only, these are classified and cannot be cut.
In Visé, in the province of Liège, the situation is serious for Nicolas and his horses. Thibault, equine veterinarian and friend of Nicolas, sent us a message to share his anxiety. “It is a disease that was discovered only regarding fifteen years ago. Before that, there were somewhat unexplained horse deaths. (…) In fact, it is not the leaves, but the small ‘helicopters’, called maple samaras, which are responsible for the disease. (…),” he explains.
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Although seemingly harmless, these fruits cause a particularly violent reaction when eaten by the horse. “They contain a toxin which, once ingested, will cause very strong muscle damage in horses, with necrosis of thousands of muscle cells and which leads to death in 75% of cases.“, specifies the veterinarian.
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Classified trees
When Nicolas decides to create a space at home for his horses, he is far from suspecting the troubles that await him. Right next to his enclosure are several sycamore maples. However, the particularity of these trees is that their fruits are extremely toxic to horses. But Nicolas didn’t know this until one of his foals became seriously ill.
We fought to be able to save him
Thibault still remembers very well how it all started. “This is a story from last year. The foal fell ill quite suddenly and was found lying in a meadow with very severe symptoms and a very poor prognosis for survival. There had never been a case before (…)”.
And that’s what’s tricky, as Thibault explains. “(…) This is also what is quite difficult with this disease: we see that there have been horses on risky meadows for years and that there has never been any case and then, from one year to the next. Another, there is a case which occurs without us really knowing how to explain it. (…) So this foal was in a very critical condition. We fought to be able to save him by putting everything in place at home. (…) After several weeks of very intensive care, he progressed very well and he was saved.”
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Determined to cut down these maple trees to protect his animals, Nicolas will come across bad news: these trees are classified by the municipality of Visé. A detail which considerably complicates the situation. “Communication with the town of Visée, at the time, did not go very well. They didn’t want to hear anything by putting forward the argument that the trees were classified and also saying that these trees were there before the horses were installed.“, relate Thibault.
For Nicolas, it is not possible to move his enclosure. “It was a development that he built himself and which cost a little money. And the problem is that moving six horses represents a huge cost. If we have to board them in a riding school, we quickly end up at 2000 euros per month“, deplores the veterinarian.
©RTL Info
So, they try to find solutions, but they are not viable in the long term.”For example, limit the time horses are in the meadow. (…) We try to make sure that they don’t go hungry when they go out into the meadow.(…) We try to make sure that they don’t go hungry when they go out into the meadow. We do our best, but unfortunately these are still animals that we cannot keep locked up.“, deplores the veterinarian.
The municipality will not move, or almost
After having had a new interview with the municipality of Visé, we contacted Thibault once more to find out if an agreement had been reached. And it is clear that the situation may not change, at least not as the veterinarian and Nicolas would like. “They were listening, they are well aware of the problem. But unfortunately, it is very complicated, even impossible to obtain the felling of the incriminated trees, because it is a classified area.“, explains Thibault.
In order to get her thoughts on this far from simple situation, we contacted the mayor of Visé, Viviane Dessart. In particular, she made it clear that this decision, that of not cutting down these sycamore maples, is not to harm Mr. Willems’ animals, quite the contrary. “We didn’t want to bother or cause the death of these animals at all.“But they had no reason to uproot these classified, century-old trees.”We cannot destroy them with our will, we will never be given the permit for that“, she explains. As a small consolation prize, she specifies: “It is obvious that we will no longer replant maple trees“.
However, certain measures will be taken by the municipality. “(…) HASNearby, they say they are ready to discuss with us to, perhaps, find solutions to move the horses during the risky period. They also undertake to be much more vigilant when it comes to tree maintenance. Because the problem that was also there was that there was very, very little maintenance, so in the end, all the little “helicopters” that were flying were going to reseed further away and we ended up with maples. even more numerous.”
The municipality also explained that the day these sycamore maples die, other less toxic trees will be replanted. Unfortunately, this will only be the case in several years. As a result, Thibault and Nicolas continue to make do with the solutions available. “(…) We continue with our precautionary measures and we will see for next year if we want to do something more or if we try to manage as best we can“, says the veterinarian.
A shaky solution which, they hope, will last as short as possible.
horses maple referred
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