Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Fruit for horses

From: Stephanie

I was wondering what type of fruits horses can eat that won't harm them? I know they can eat apples, but what else is safe for them to eat? I have heard of some people feeding their horses oranges.

Stephanie

Hi Stephanie! Horses can, and do, eat many different fruits. You know about apples, of course, but your horse might enjoy an occasional piece of some other kind of fruit. Most horses love pears, peaches, apricots, plums, melon, and watermelon - even watermelon rinds. Some horses enjoy bananas, some like mangoes, most horses enjoy raisins. I've seen horses eat figs, and you've probably heard the (true) stories about desert-raised Arabian horses living on a diet of camel's milk and dates. Some horses love fresh cocoanut. Grapes are popular, too. I can remember visiting wineries as a child, and watching as the horses pulling the wagons full of grapes were offered - and obviously enjoyed - bunches of fresh grapes. Some horses adore citrus fruits, especially grapefruit and oranges.

Some fruits aren't good for horses - you shouldn't feed horses persimmons or rhubarb. Some fruits aren't good if fed in huge quantities, so be moderate with your horses' treats. You can safely feed apples and peaches, for example, but if your horse's pasture shares a fence with an orchard, don't give your horse access to a lot of apple, cherry, or peach windfalls. The seeds contain a tiny amount of cyanide, and too many of those seeds can kill a horse.

If you want to experiment with feeding some fruit to your horse, you have a lot of different fruits to choose from. Try fruits that YOU like, and offer small pieces to the horse, so that there won't be much wasted even if the horse's reaction is to look horrified and spit out your offering. ;-) Have fun!

Jessica

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