Like any pet, horses love to eat treats. Luckily, by choosing treats for your horse that are healthful, you can supplement your horse's diet while tickling his taste buds.
Some good treats
Choosing treats for your horse can be fun because there are a lot of different treats to choose from. Many of them you can even find in your own refrigerator. Some safe, healthy horse treats that you can get at the super market include raisins, cut up apples and carrots, peppermints and dates that have been pitted. Some treats, such as sugar cubes and hay cubes, will have to picked up at a specialty animal store.
If your first attempt at choosing treats for your horse isn't successful, try again. You'll know if your horse doesn't like his treat because he'll quickly lose interest in the treat. That's OK! Horses have taste buds and they like to try new things, so keep trying treats until you find one that he can't resist.
How to feed your horse treats
Now that you're done choosing treats for your horse, you need give the treats to your horse. Though it's fun to have your horse eat out of your hand or your pocket, it's not always the best way to go about dolling out treats. While you know your horse and don't mind him poking around your pocket, other people might not like it. Continually feeding your horse via hand or pocket will train your horse to start looking in everyone's pockets for treats. This may make other people uncomfortable so if you're horse is around a lot of people, teach him to take his treats from a bucket rather than from your hand.
Things to watch out for
When choosing treats for your horse keep your horse's safety in mind. While apples and carrots are good for your horse, they can be a chocking hazard if they're not cut into pieces. The same goes for pits, like the ones you'll find in dates. Hard foods, such as sugar cubes and peppermints, should be given out in small doses. Horses love these treats, but they're easier to choke on. Give them to your horse bit by bit and should be OK.
When you're feeding your horse his treat, make sure all wrappers are well out of his reach. Your horse can smell the food that was in the wrapper and may go after the plastic container if it's too close to him. Obviously you didn't work hard choosing treats for your horse so he could choke on plastic!
There are a few foods you should avoid when choosing treats for your horse. A show horse should never eat chocolate because chocolate can make horses test positive on a drug test. Every horse should stay away from any kind of lawn clippings. Some of the plants and the chemicals on the plants may be hazardous to your horse. You should also stay away from broccoli and cauliflower, tomatoes and potatoes. If you have any questions about how you’re choosing treats for your horse, ask your vet.
