A: The specimen you brought to the office was probably a wild or black cherry tree, which is common in Northeast Florida. According to Cornell University, whose site I visited, any of the cherry trees would be a problem for your horses as well as cattle, moose, sheep, swine, and goats. The primary poisons are amygdalin and prunasin, which are found in the leaves and the seed of the cherry tree. We discussed removing lower limbs but the best solution would be to remove the tree as it produces numerous fruit which would fall to the ground and still be potentially ingested by the horses. This is an example of better safe than sorry. For a complete list of plants horses should avoid please visit the Cornel website: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/php/plants.php?action=display&ispecies=horses

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