BEST Homemade Horse Treat Recipe {Printable} - Savvy Horsewoman (2024)

FAQs

What is the best horse treat? ›

My horse absolutely loves them and they will keep for about 2 - 3 weeks depending on hardness. To make the cookies harder use less molasses and for more stickiness and darkness use more molasses. Also, you may not think that you have added enough molasses BUT most likely don't add anymore, just keep mixing."

Layered Horse Popsicle Recipe

Pick out a combo of fruits and veggies that your horses love (pears, carrots, and strawberries are some of the favorites around here). Chop them up into large slices. Then put a layer of fruit/veggies in the bottom of the freezer container. Next add a layer of ice.

Use a Horse Calmer

Firstly, a great option is to look into using a horse calming supplement to help your horse relax. Some popular ingredients to look for are magnesium which helps reduce anxiety, tryptophan which can reduce stress, and valerian which also helps to reduce anxiety.

Carrots. First and foremost, horse's love carrots! So, you won't have any trouble getting them to eat these veggies! Have you ever heard the old wives' tale that carrots help you see in the dark?

Feeding a healthy horse three or four sugar cubes is unlikely to cause a significant glucose spike; however, for a horse with uncontrolled IR, PSSM, or a laminitis history, feeding sugar cubes isn't a risk worth taking. Skip the sugary treats, too, if your horse is overweight, especially if he has a cresty neck.

Dairy products: horses are lactose intolerant in adulthood, and dairy products such as ice cream can cause serious, pain, discomfort, and digestive problems like diarrhoea. A very small amount would probably not be problematic, but there's much better treat alternatives.

Icing horses' legs after work is often used to cool the soft tissues, kickstart recovery and slow the inflammatory response.

Molasses is the syrup that is left over from the sugar production out of sugar cane or sugar beet. Molasses is used a lot in horse feeds as it has a number of significant advantages. The advantages of feeding molasses: Molasses contains 50% sugar.

What is a substitute for molasses in horse treats? ›

Honey can be substituted for molasses. Directions: Preheat oven to 300-325 degrees.

Apart from the inability of the horse to process and digest large quantities of starch and sugar, there can be more serious problems associated with a high sugar / high starch diet. These include Cushing's Disease, Exertional Rhabdomyolysis, Insulin Resistance and Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy.

“Studies have shown that horses prefer banana over traditional mint, carrot and apple flavours,” explains equine nutritionist, Olivia Colston MSc. Independent equine nutritionist Fiona Watkins BSc (Hons) Pro Dip highly recommends celery as a healthy treat for your horse.

Many pleasure and trail horses don't need grain: good-quality hay or pasture is sufficient. If hay isn't enough, grain can be added, but the bulk of a horse's calories should always come from roughage. Horses are meant to eat roughage, and their digestive system is designed to use the nutrition in grassy stalks.

Feed a forage based diet

Chewing forage keeps a horse more mentally relaxed and calm. If they have a forage based diet, with an absolute minimum of 1.5% of their bodyweight in forage per day (7.5kg for a 500kg horse) they spend more time chewing and mentally content which is then reflected in their behaviour.

Alfalfa hay is usually highest in nutrients. Alfalfa is useful in the diets of horses with high nutrient requirements like broodmares and growing horses.