"Can horses eat carrots?" will seem like a silly question to lots of horse owners. This is because, alongside apples, carrots are a classic treat for horses.
But as a responsible owner, it's always good to do your research before giving your horses a new treat. It’s good to know what nutritional benefits it has and just how much you should be feeding it.
So in this guide, we’re going to take a deeper look at carrots and how they can benefit horses.
Is it Safe to Give Horses Carrots?
Carrots are one of the most well known and popular treats to give to horses. And horses love the crunchy texture and fresh, sweet taste of carrots. So it’s just as well that they are completely non-toxic, safe and healthy for horses to eat. So long as long as they're fed in moderation.
Are Carrots Healthy for Horses?
Horses know what's good for them because carrots make a very healthy treat. Below we’ll take a look at carrot nutrition and how it can benefit a horse's diet when you feed them as a treat.
Fiber and Antioxidants
Like most fresh vegetables, carrots are a great source of fiber and they’re also full of antioxidants. Horses need to eat fiber so they can absorb nutrients from other food. Fiber typically plays an essential part in keeping the horses digestive system healthy.
Toxins accumulate in your horse's body each day, even more, when your horse exercises. And if these toxins build up in your horses body, they can have negative effects on its well-being.
When you feed horses foods that are high in antioxidants, such as carrots, they will help your horses body to eliminate harmful toxins.
Vitamins and Minerals
One of the most famous vitamins in carrots is beta carotene. This is great for your horse's eyes. And it is converted into vitamin A inside your horse's body which is great for your horse's heart and lungs.
Carrots also have lots of vitamin K1, B6 and Biotin for energy and vitality. Carrots also contain a fair amount of vitamin C. So as well as being good for the heart and eyes, carrots will also boost your horses immune system.
Carrots typically contain a good range of minerals for horses, including but not limited to, calcium, potassium and iron. These are good for your horses overall vitality and are particularly good for the bones and circulation.
But because of the high levels of potassium, owners should be cautious about feeding carrots, or any other fruit or vegetable or food that is high in potassium, to horses with HYPP.
Sugars
Just like most fruit and vegetables, carrots are made up mostly of water which makes them a very healthy and refreshing treat for horses. However, carrots contain a fair amount of sugar too. This comes in the form of sucrose and glucose. And it's one of the main reasons why carrots should be fed in moderation.
Typically, a medium-sized carrot contains approximately 5 grams of sugar, which is quite high. And too much can be bad for a horse's health.
Because of the high levels of sugar, you should always be cautious about feeding carrots as treats to horses with metabolic or digestive issues. Always check with your vet before feeding these types of horses carrots.
Is it Safe to Feed Horses Carrot Tops and Leaves?
So now that you know that carrots are ok to feed to horses, you might be wondering about carrot tops next. And the good news is that the carrot tops are also non-toxic and make good treats to feed to your horse.
In fact, the tops of carrots have many nutritional benefits for horses. But like the rest of the carrot, they contain lots of potassium. So you should be cautious about feeding carrot tops to horses with HYPP.
Always wash the tops and cut them into smaller pieces before they're fed to a horse. And always feed carrot tops in moderation.
What About the Different Colors of Carrots, are They All OK to Feed to Horses?
Traditionally carrots aren’t orange, they come in all kinds of colors including black, red and purple. But aside from the color, all carrots are nutritionally the same. Which means that all of the different colored carrots are non-toxic and are safe to feed to a horse.
How Much and How Often Should you Feed a Horse Carrots?
Even though carrots are very healthy vegetables for horses, they are treats after all. So this means that you should always feed horses carrots in moderation. This is because you don't want to overwhelm your horses digestive system with concentrated foods by feeding too many.
So you should only feed your horse a maximum of two carrots per day. And ideally, these carrots should be spread out into several small servings throughout the day.
Warnings About Feeding Carrots
Because horses are grazing animals, the main part of a horse's diet should be roughage such as grass or hay. And any grains, concentrated feed or treats, like a carrot, should be fed in moderation.
It’s a good idea for owners to supervise a horse when it’s eating treats such as carrots. And you should be aware of the following risks that are associated with feeding carrots and other vegetables as treats.
Choke
Carrots are hard and crunchy and this is why horses love eating them. But because of their hard texture, it’s easy for a carrot to become a choking hazard. So this is why you need to be especially careful when feeding carrots to horses.
To avoid choke when you feed horses carrot, then you need to chop carrots up into smaller pieces before feeding them.
Introduce Them Slowly
Horses have a very sensitive digestive system that is designed for eating grass and hay. So you must introduce carrots and any other new treats or feed slowly to avoid colic.
When you do this, you can monitor your horse for allergic reactions or gastric sensitivity. Start by giving your horse just one or two small pieces of carrot at first. If your horse is fed lots of carrots all at once this could lead to colic so moderation is key.
If your horse doesn't have any adverse reactions or signs of colic after 24 hours of being fed carrot, then you can gradually increase the carrot portion size over the space of a week or two.
Equine Metabolic Issues
Because a carrot contains sugar then you should be cautious about feeding them to horses with metabolic issues such as laminitis, insulin resistance or Cushing's disease. Always get advice from your vet first before feeding carrots as treats to horses with any of these conditions. Giving them carrots as a treat could make their condition worse.
You should also avoid giving your horse carrots as a treat to eat if it suffers from HYPP. Horses with this condition react badly when they're fed too much potassium. And a carrot contains high levels of potassium.
If you have any concerns about giving your horse carrots as a treat then always check with your vet first.
Don’t Feed Too Many
As part of a healthy feeding regime, your horses consumption of carrots must be limited. If you feed your horse too many pieces of carrot treats then it might feel too full to eat its normal, healthy foods.
And if your horse doesn't eat properly this can lead to many different health issues. You should only feed your horse a small amount of carrots each day. And no more than one to two carrots at any time. Treats should always be limited.
Tips on Preparing Carrots for Horses
When it comes to preparing carrots as treats for your equine friend then first you should wash them before you feed them to horses. This will remove any pesticides or bacteria from the carrot that could potentially be harmful to your horse.
If you find any moldy or rotten parts on the carrots then cut this off and throw it away. If a horse eats moldy or rotten food then it could make it very ill.
Next, you must chop up the carrots into small pieces so they don’t become a choking hazard. Always cut the carrots into half-inch sticks before feeding them to your horse. And never feed carrots in round slices or chunks. These can easily get stuck in your horses windpipe.
If you have an older horse or a horse with dental problems, they’ll have a hard time eating carrots. Thus the carrot could lead to choke.
For horses that have problems chewing, try shredding the carrots or blending them in a food processor as a healthy treat. Older horses especially will benefit from the extra nutrition from carrots.
Conclusion
So, I think that we’ve fully answered the question “can horses eat carrots?”. And the answer is something that most equine owners have known all along. As long as you feed carrots in moderation then they make very healthy vegetable treats for your horse. Always make sure that you chop a carrot up before you feed it to horses, so it doesn't become a choking hazard. And finally, always be cautious about feeding a carrot to a horse with a metabolic condition.
