Ask any horse owner or rider, and they’ll tell you how fun it is to give their horse something special. But giving your horse the wrong food can be very bad for him. By learning about the foods your horse can safely eat and the ones it can’t, you can give it a special treat without worrying about what will happen.
What foods are safe for horses to eat? Horses can eat apples, carrots, celery, melons, green beans, and many other fruits and vegetables. They might also like peanut butter, oatmeal, or sugar cubes as treats. Even if a treatment is safe for your horse to eat, you should only give it to them in small amounts.
Knowing what your horse can’t eat is more important than knowing what it can safely eat. In this post, we’ll give you a full list of foods that are safe and those that aren’t. We’ll also answer some of the most common questions about what a horse eats.
What Horses can eat and what they can’t eat
Whether you give your horse sugar cubes or celery as a treat, it’s important to keep in mind that treats are just that—treats. Any food your horse doesn’t normally eat should be given in small amounts. Many horse experts say that you shouldn’t do it more than once a day.
If you give your horse too many treats, it might not want to eat its regular food, which gives it the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it needs to stay healthy.
Before you give your horse sugar cubes or high-sugar fruit, you should always make sure they are not insulin-resistant. If your horse is resistant to insulin, you will need to choose treats carefully that have less sugar.
What horses can eat without getting sick
Horses, like humans, each have unique tastes. Apples may be a treat that one horse loves, but another horse may decide that apples are not for them. Because of this, it’s good to have a list of foods that your horse can eat without getting sick.
It’s important to make sure that the treats you give your horse are safe for him to eat. This means you’ll have to take out the cores, stones, or pits. You should also cut up hard fruits and vegetables, as well as anything round, to make it easier for your horse to eat.
Here are some foods that your horse can eat in moderation without getting sick:
- Apples (without the core)
- Applesauce
- Apricots (without the stone)
- Bananas
- Carrots
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Grapes
- Green Beans
- Lettuce
- Mango
- Molasses
- Melon (without the rind)
- Oatmeal
- Oranges
- Peaches (without the stone)
- Pears (without the core)
- Peanut Butter
- Peppermints
- Pineapple Pieces
- Plums (without the stone)
- Pretzels
- Pumpkin
- Raisins
- Snow Peas
- Strawberries
- Sugar Cubes
- Sunflower Seeds
- Watermelon
After giving your horse a new kind of food, you should keep an eye on it for a few hours to make sure it doesn’t have an allergic reaction. Even though this doesn’t happen to most horses very often, it can happen.
Not-Good-For-Horses Foods
It is very important to learn about the risks of giving a horse something it shouldn’t eat and to teach others about these risks. Some foods can not only make your intestines feel bad, but they can also cause more serious digestive problems or even kill you.
Here are a few things that your horse should never, ever eat:
- Avocado
- Bran
- Bread
- Broccoli
- Brussel Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Caffeine
- Cauliflower
- Chocolate
- Compost
- Dairy Products
- Garlic
- Kale
- Lawn Clippings
- Meat
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Rhubarb
- Stone Fruits
- Tomatoes
If you know or think your horse has eaten anything on this list or anything else that could be dangerous, you should call your equine vet. Even though they might not be able to do much to help your horse feel better, letting them know what’s going on will get them ready for calls if other problems come up.
Do the right research before giving your horse something you don’t know much about. Even if someone else feeds their horse a certain food, that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for your horse. Remember that you are in charge of your horse, and it is your job to make sure it is safe, healthy, and happy.
How to Help Your Horse If It Eats Something It Shouldn’t
So, what do you do if your horse eats something it shouldn’t? Whether you give your horse something it shouldn’t have eaten or it got into the food you were supposed to put away, this can be a very stressful situation.
If your horse ate something it shouldn’t have, you need to keep your cool. Watch your horse first. They could lay down if they want to. Even though this shouldn’t cause any more problems, it is important to make them stand if they start acting strange. If your horse has a lot of gas or stomach pain, walking them could help them feel better.
Next, contact your equine veterinarian. Tell me about the situation and any signs you’ve seen. Your vet will be able to give you more advice about what to do next. When things go wrong, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Don’t wait too long to talk to a professional about what to do.
Lastly, you should carefully look into what caused the accident. Take harmful foods out of your horse’s diet, think about getting an allergy test, and make sure all harmful foods are always out of reach.
Frequently Asked Questions About a Horse’s Diet
Do horses like celery?
Yes! Both the stalk and the leaves of celery are good for horses to eat. Most horses like this crunchy snack. Celery is not only a tasty way to celebrate a good day, but it also gives your horse an extra dose of vitamins. Celery contains vitamin K, potassium, manganese, vitamin B2, vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and vitamin A.
Because celery is a hard vegetable, you should cut it into small pieces before feeding it to your horse. If you give them a whole piece of celery, they could choke.
Does a horse like cabbage?
You should never, ever let your horse eat cabbage. Cabbage comes from the same family of vegetables as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and kale, all of which can give horses gas (and humans). Your horse’s gas pains can get worse very quickly, causing colic and a lot of pain. This could be fatal in the worst cases.
Are horses able to eat lettuce?
Yes! Lettuce is safe for horses to eat. In fact, some horse owners add lettuce to their horse’s normal food once in a while. Lettuce is a cheap treat that has a lot of water and would be a great addition to your horse’s diet. Most horses can eat up to two pounds of lettuce every day without losing their hunger.
Can watermelon be eaten by horses?
Watermelon is safe for horses to eat, just like other melons. Most horses really like the sweet flesh of a watermelon. Both the flesh and the rind of watermelons can be eaten by horses, but most of them prefer the flesh. If you feed your horse watermelon with the rind still on, you should cut it into small pieces so it doesn’t choke.
Pumpkin? Can horses eat it?
Like a lot of other animals, some horses really like how pumpkin tastes. Small pieces of pumpkin flesh can be given to your horse as a sweet treat. Most horses can eat pumpkin seeds without any trouble, but they might not like the taste. Pumpkin has a lot of vitamin A and is mostly water, which makes it a great food for your horse to eat.
Many horse lovers also make homemade treats for their horses out of a cooked pumpkin, which is another fun way to thank your horse for doing a good job.
Can Horses Eat Bananas?
Even though bananas are not as common as other fruits, horses can safely eat them. Bananas contain important nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin D. They taste good and are easy to both eat and digest.
Like pumpkin, mashed banana can be used to add sweetness to homemade horse treats. As with any other treatment, you should only give your horse bananas in small amounts and watch it after the first time.
Oranges: Can horses eat them?
Your horse can get a lot of vitamin C from oranges and other citrus fruits. In fact, scientists are looking into how good orange peel extract is for a horse’s health as a whole. One bad thing about oranges and other citrus fruits is that they have a lot of sugar. Before giving your horse this kind of treat, you should make sure it is not insulin resistant.
Also, citrus fruits can react badly to some medications or prescriptions. Before giving your horse an orange as a treat, check to see if it is taking any medications.
Strawberry? Can horses eat them?
Strawberries are safe for horses to eat as long as they don’t eat too many. Strawberries are very good for your horses’ health because they are full of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. They also have a lot of water and important antioxidants, which can help your horse’s immune system and keep it well-hydrated.
Most horses like how sweet strawberries taste. But if you give your horse too many strawberries, it could get gassy or have stomach problems.
Do horses like to eat meat?
One type of food that horses should never eat is meat. Horses are true herbivores because their teeth and stomachs are made to eat plants. There are stories about horses that lived in the wild and ate meat. But there have been no long-term studies on how meat affects a horse’s digestive system.
Does a horse like cucumbers?
Yes! In fact, cucumbers are one of the best treats for horses with insulin resistance. Cucumbers are hard and round, so you should cut them into smaller pieces so you don’t choke on them. Cucumbers are a treat that horses like to eat on their own or as part of their regular feed.
Cucumbers are both high in water and high in nutrients, which is good for your horse’s health and gives them a reward for a job well done. Some horses may get gas from cucumbers. Because of this, it is best to only give your horse one or two cucumbers per week.
Conclusion
If you aren’t sure if something different you want to feed your horse is healthy and safe for them to eat, don’t give it to them. It’s better to give them food they already like than to try new things.
But try to give them new tastes and flavors, expand their menu, and give them a wide range of fresh, healthy vegetables and fruits, especially those that are in season and easy to get.
