trimming pine trees question

I have a stand of pine trees in my pasture that my horses use for shelter from the sun, wind and rain. They prefer their "fort" to the run in most of the time.
Against my wishes, the entire inside and "entrance/exit" was butchered. All the branches going about 4 or 5 feet up were cut off and many were just cut down. I'm concerned this will weaken the trees, open them up to the possibility of disease and/or bug infestation, or just plain old kill them.
Is this a valid concern, and if so, is there anything I can do at this point to save them? I'm not sure what kind of pines they are but have attached a picture of the center area where they hang out.
Thanks,
Kristen

Also, right on the outside there was this cool loopty-loop tree that was cut down right where it loops back out. Pines don't grow back once cut, do they?

How sad! Especially the loop-de-loop tree! I don't know about pines growing back. There'll be someone along who does. I do know that cutting branches off the lower parts of the tree won't neccessarily be bad for them. Anythime you cut into a tree, you leave it open to disease/pests.
Most times, I would think, they'll be okay.

Anyone else?

pines wont grow back after cut that i know of and we have several. also over time those bottom limbs get broke and break and stuff anyway.

try to trim the branches butchered close to the tree and get some umm dang tree paint. sell it at lowes or nusery to help seal out diseases.

we cut the bottom limbs as they grow here as it seems to weigh them down. maybe just our preference. and looks better as they grow too easier when mowing grass too.

depending on the pines as there are several varieties depends on the disease restistance.



why were they cut?

Using tree wound paint is not advisable. It seals in moisture and makes a perfect environment for rots, fungus, insect and bacterial infections. The best "dressing" for a tree wound or cut is sunlight and air circulation whenever practical. If anything needs to be done here it would be to make sure that any pruning was done at the branch collar to enable the tree to callous over the cut.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/Spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_prune/addinfo.htm
http://www.dof.virginia.gov/mgt/how-to-prune.shtml

These links are good general sources of information that illustrate how to properly prune a tree or repair storm damage.

I would cherish the opportunity to encourage the horses and to enliven the Pines. Prune.........Prune........ I say PRUNE!

Pine trees are poisonous to horses and cattle, so be very careful. We lost several cattle some years ago when a pine tree blew down in a storm and landed in our pasture. We didn't realize that pines were poisonous until we had the vet come to find out what killed our cows.

Thanks for the warning on the pines.
The trees were just the start of a big fight (but not the first problem by a long shot) with the family member that we live with and we decided to move. thank you for all the information and advice! Now we won't have anyone telling us what we can and can't do nor will we have giant oak trees filled with dead and broken branches all around the house that we aren't allowed to do anything about either. There are some trees at our new house that once we are settled, I'll have to post pictures of to get id's on. I have no clue what they are but they are pretty :-)

Pines poisonous? No I do not believe so. We have horses running all over long leaf pine forests and I have seen no dead horses from it.

As far as pines they don't grow back lower limbs and I wouldn't worry about it. Tall pine without lower limbs is prefect for horses.

I'm not sure what the problem is here?