Articles - Horse Care

All horses love a treat.. or two! And that is fine but you want to ensure you give your pony natural, healthy treats. You can have baked treats or fresh treats so the list is endless!

Of course, you also need to check that the treat would not endangered his life! So here are some ideas for you and your horse.

Vegetable treats

These are, in my books, the best! Well, after all, horses are herbivore and vegies are plants. They are natural and if you are lucky enough to grow your own or have organic ones at hand, it's even better.

The humble carrot is certainly high on the list of our horses. You can cut them or slice them in their feed or give them by hand. They can be used as a reward or simply for the love of them!

Celery sticks, seeds and leaves are excellent and horses love them, although avoid to give any Celery to a pregnant mare. Celery is good to help arthritis and reduce swelling in joints, it is also a tonic and calms stomach pains.

Pumpkin, including the skin, is a delight to horses. Cut small pieces and add to your horse's feed.

Fruits as treats

Horse love fruits!! But they can't have too much as it is full of sugar. One a day is all right though. Large and medium fruits like apples, pears etc should always be chopped into morsels so your horse does not chocke on them

Bananas are well sought after! You can give them the skin too. It's better to slice them in their feed as if your horse is greedy, he will snatch the banana off your hand and swallow it whole, which can be dangerous and cause chocking.

Apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, mulberries are also on the list!

Tomatoes are extremely palatable to horses.

Baked treats

Bread and home made cookies are part of the favourites!

Try to use unbleached, wholemeal and organic flours as they are healthier. Use molasses sparingly as it is pure sugar. Maybe swap it for pure honey.

You can add carrots and fruits in your recipe.

Keep it simple and keep the treats in the fridge as rotten food doesn't go well with horses.

I have a great little eBook with plenty of home made recipes of treats for horses that you might like.

Have fun!