Also, although it may be seen as convenient to get rid of your garden and lawn clippings, weeds, and compost by feeding them to your horse, you should never feed these items to them. • Any fruits with pits still in them. It is always best to check if your horse is insulin resistant before feeding them anything containing sugar and you should always cut up other foods to avoid any choking hazards (take special care with any hard, round fruits and vegetables). • Privet Dusty, moldy or very old hay. It’s also a good source of fiber. Your horse was not designed to eat such processed foods, so they should be avoided. The quick answer would be that horses can eat plain bread, but some special types of bread (for example, garlic bread, chocolate bread and bread with poppy seeds) may not be safe for horses. No, Poseidon did not eat horses in Greek myth, he was god of the sea, rivers, flood and drought, earthquakes, and horses. Horses have a rather complicated digestion system which has bacteria and microbial of its own. • Foxglove • Mountain Laurel Alsike clover. So, what can horses eat? If you cannot eliminate it completely or at least manage it so it doesn’t go to seed, then best to make the perimeter track and keep your horse on there. Buttercups are poisonous to horses if eaten fresh, but a horse would need to eat large amounts to die from eating them. • Chocolate The following is a list of plants that should not be fed to your horse. Bread - Bread products fall into the category of proccessed foods, which horses aren't able to break down properly. The following is a list of the recommended items that should be included in a horse’s basic diet. Citrus is also bad, the acids are just too much for a horses delicate digestive system. Pumpkin meat and the seeds can be fed to horses, but not the skin. Caffeine - Caffeine can cause an irregular heartbeat and, as mentioned above, if your horse competes it can cause result in failure of a drug test. • Broccoli While any feedstuff can be overfed, there is a particular risk with corn because of its high weight and starch content. Tomatoes - As a member of the toxic Solanaceae plant family, tomatoes are related to deadly nightshade, horse nettle and other toxic plants, all of which contain tropane alkaloids. So What Can’t Horses Eat? • Poison hemlock Obviously not what you would want your horses to be eating. • Rhubarb But it’s essential to ensure you know which treats are ok for your horse to have. Grains that are grown, harvested and processed as we do now, are not natural foods for horses. They may be very toxic for your horse. Other than usual pasture grass, hay, and some grains, you can surely give your horse some treats. • Pickles Those that might adversely affect the horse’s health, and therefore be avoided or at least limited, are so identified. In addition to a wide variety of unsafe meats and plants, you should also avoid feeding your horse feeds intended for other farm animals. I know onions are bad for horses- same with dogs. Cucumber. Let’s take a look at some of the most common trees and plants poisonous to horses. • Nightshade However, never feed your horse dusty or moldy hay. Horses can colic from trapped gas, having eaten something he should not have, ulcers or impaction. • Holly IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL FOODS SHOULD BE FED IN MODERATION, OVER FEEDING YOUR HORSE CAN CAUSE UPSET TO A BALANCED DIET. What foods are bad for horses? So, as well as making sure your horse is eating small quantities of food, you also need to ensure you avoid feeding your horse the following: Lots of fruit snacks/treats – these can cause colic, obesity, and may lead to serious health problems, including the painful foot problem laminitis. Meat, including eggs, and other dairy products can cause your horse digestive issues and therefore should be avoided completely. • Alfalfa Any fruit or vegetable should be cut into strips to ensure they do not become stuck in the horse's throat which can lead to choking. Such items include chicken feed, goat feed, cattle feed, and any other foods intended for other animals, as these can be fatal to your horse. The tomato fruit itself contains hyoscyamine, which increases heart rate, decreases saliva production and intestinal motility, and causes severe constipation and/or diarrhoea that can be potentially life-threatening. Remove the stem and spoon out the seeds before cutting the flesh into small chunks. Some even give their horses a little treat each day and most of the time we do it because it makes us feel good. Corn fed to horses is usually cracked, steam flaked or rolled. Parsnip. Feeding your horse the wrong foods can cause him pain and discomfort, or even lead to serious illness. • Brussels sprouts Oddities often consumed by horses on pasture This plant family contains the chemical N-propyl disulfide, which damages red blood cells, and in turn can lead to anemia. Like a runner or tennis player eating bananas, horses may benefit from eating bananas as well. If you feed them the wrong thing, it can not only cause them a lot of discomfort and pain, but can even cause lasting damage to their digestive and urinary systems, and in severe cases lead to fatality. Everyone loves a treat now and again and so do our horses. 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