Christmas is the perfect time of year to relax and enjoy some treats. You can even share a number of them with your animals, whether it is dogs, cats, or horses. However, you need to be careful before you give them anything. This is especially true for horse owners as a treat could potentially lead to colic or other problems. Like any other changes with horse feed, you need to look closely at what you’re giving them and introduce new feeds or treats slowly in moderation.

What can they eat?

The great thing is there are a number of things you can feed to horses as a Christmas treat. This includes a few you might be enjoying yourself.

Fruits and vegetables

As a starting point, horses can have apple, pumpkin, and carrot as treats. Most horses enjoy them. They can even eat peel and rind if you’re cooking with apples, pumpkins, and carrots. This is a great way to avoid throwing anything away. Many horses also like cranberries.

There are a couple of key things to keep in mind here though. Firstly, don’t give whole apples or carrots to a horse, or even particularly large pieces of peel or rind. They could choke. Secondly, check there isn’t any mould on fresh fruits and vegetables. Finally, always make sure you think about the sugar and fibre content, especially if your horse has metabolic problems.

Baking

A lot of people like to bake at Christmas, including things like cakes, puddings, and cookies. You can even make treats specifically for horses; there are plenty of fantastic recipes. However, make sure you are careful. Just like with other kinds of horse feed, you need to check you are only choosing ingredients that are safe for horses.

An important thing to keep in mind here is typical baking ingredients like oats, cinnamon, and molasses (treacle) are safe. As we already said, apple and pumpkin are a good option too. Once again though, make sure you think about the potential for choking; keep treats small or cut them into pieces before feeding. In addition, make sure you try to minimise the amount of sugar in any treats.

Candy canes

Is there a more iconic Christmas treat than the candy cane? They are incredibly popular and have a place in folklore and tradition. Even better, you can share them with your horse if you want to. Many owners will already know that some horses love peppermint sweets; they smell and taste good, and a horse may learn they are soothing for their digestion.

The key thing to keep in mind here once again is the amount of sugar in candy canes. Don’t overdo it or it could lead to health problems.

Talk to us about horse feed

JS Hubbuck Ltd has been supplying quality feeds for different animals for a long time. Our goal is to ensure clients can come to us for a great service and excellent products. Crucially, we can provide essential details to support various diets.

So, get in touch and talk to us about horse feed and various other products today. Plus, always keep in mind that any changes to feeds should be done gradually to reduce the chance of issues. This also applies to giving treats.