Many people love to give their horses treats, but if you’ve ever stopped to read the labels of some horse treats, you may find that they’re not all that healthy. Many treats contain loads of sugar or other additives that simply aren’t good for our horses—especially those with metabolic issues.
However, there are healthier options when it comes to horse treats! For example, whole foods such as certain fruits can make great treats, as can homemade horse cookies with healthy ingredients!
Fruits
The following fruits can all safely be consumed by horses (in small quantities, of course):
- apples
- apricots
- bananas
- blackberries
- blueberries
- cherries
- coconut
- figs
- grapes
- mango
- oranges
- peaches
- pears
- watermelon
If you store fruit in the fridge for a few hours first, they can make a nice, cool treat on a hot summer day. Just make sure to cut all fruits into bite-sized pieces and remove any pits. Another idea is to make a fruit salad in a bucket. If you’d like, top it off with water and freeze like a giant, horse-sized popsicle!
Homemade Treats
Making your own healthy horse treats or cookies can also be enjoyable for both you and your horse. Here are a few recipes you might want to try:
Healthy Horse Cookie
- 1 carrot
- 1 apple
- 1 cup molasses or honey
- 2 ½ cups of oats
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2-3 tbsp of coconut oil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grate the carrot and apple.
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Place large spoonfuls on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Homemade Horse Treats
- 3 cups oats
- 1/2 cup almond flour or almond meal
- 2 chopped or grated carrots
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 cup applesauce
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Grease or line a baking sheet to keep the treats from sticking.
- Mix the oats and the flour together in a large bowl until they are combined well.
- Finely chop or grate the carrots.
- Now you can stir in the applesauce and molasses. Mix well.
- Roll the treat mixture into balls (whatever size you want to give to your horses).
- Place the uncooked treats onto the greased or lined baking pan and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.
Frozen Banana Mash Horse Treat
- 4 Chopped frozen bananas
- 4 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup grain (or whatever feed you use)
- 2 cups oatmeal
- 1 cup honey (optional; omit for metabolic horses)
- Ice
Directions:
- Chop bananas and freeze for at least 1 hour.
- Shred Carrots and gather other ingredients.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl for additional freezing.
- Decide on small frozen treats or a large frozen block for your horse to work.
- Divide and freeze accordingly, in plastic containers.
- Pry frozen treat from bowl and offer to horse on a warm day.
- This treat can be served frozen or thawed, it’s up to you and your horse!
*Note: Don’t feed homemade treats with molasses as an ingredient to horses with metabolic problems.