Fresh green lettuce is a great food to eat if you’re on a diet. This is because is low in calories and fat-free. So if you’re looking for healthy treats for your horse then maybe you’ve wondered if lettuce is safe for them to eat? However, before feeding your horse any new treat, you must find out if it’s safe for them first. So can horses eat lettuce? Keep reading to find out.
Can Horses Eat Lettuce?
Lettuce is one of the safest treats that you can feed to your horse. This is because it’s made up mostly of water and it isn’t very concentrated in nutrients. However, just like with all treats, you should feed lettuce to your horse in moderation.
Can Horses Eat Iceberg Lettuce?
Horses can eat most types of lettuce, including iceberg. And each different type of lettuce has its own nutritional benefits. Iceberg is one of the least nutritious types of lettuce. So even though it’s safe for horses to eat it’s not very beneficial to your horse's diet.
One of the most nutritious types of lettuce that’s safe to feed to horses is Romaine lettuce. This is high in folates, vitamin A and vitamin K.
Is lettuce Healthy for Horses?
Lettuce is healthy for your horse in the sense that it’s not toxic but nutritionally speaking, it doesn’t offer a huge range of vitamins and minerals. Overall, most types of lettuce contain small amounts of vitamins A and C. These are great for your horse's eyes and immune system.
Lettuce also contains minerals such as iron, calcium and potassium. These are good for your horse's blood, bones and nervous system.
Warnings About Feeding Horses Lettuce
Because lettuce isn’t very rich, this means that horses can eat slightly more lettuce than other treats. That said, you shouldn’t feed your horse more than 2 pounds of lettuce at any one time and you shouldn’t feed them lettuce more than once or twice a week.
Just like all new treats, you must introduce lettuce into your horse's diet slowly. This is to make sure that your horse isn’t allergic to lettuce. And it also gives your horses sensitive digestive system time to adapt to the new food.
You can do this by feeding your horse just one or two leaves of lettuce at first. Then you should monitor your horse for signs of digestive discomfort for the next 24 hours. If your horse seems fine then you can gradually increase the amount of lettuce in its diet. However, if your horse has excessive gas or diarrhea after eating lettuce then you shouldn’t give it any more.
Another thing to consider is that most types of lettuce contain potassium. This means that you should speak with your vet first before you feed it to horses with HYPP. Horses with this condition can’t have too much potassium in their diet because it can make their condition worse.
And lastly, it’s important to know that not all leafy greens are safe for horses to eat. You should never feed your horse Swiss chard, kale, spinach or endives. These contain lots of oxalates which are toxic for your horse. And never feed your horse cabbage leaves, these can cause bloating and colic in horses.
How to Prepare Lettuce for Horses
The leaves of lettuce don’t pose a choking hazard to your horse. However, the tough stem of the lettuce can be quite hard. So you should break the leaves off the stem and only feed the lettuce leaves.
And it’s really important to wash and dry the lettuce before feeding it to your horse. And while you’re washing it check for any moldy or wilted leaves and remove these. Wet, slimy or mouldy lettuce can be really bad for your horse. The bacteria found on moldy lettuce will cause bloating and possibly colic.
Conclusion
So, can horses eat lettuce? I think we can safely say that lettuce makes a good treat for horses to eat as long as you feed it in moderation. If a horse eats too much lettuce then this can lead to bloating, diarrhea and even colic. Lettuce isn’t the healthiest treat in terms of nutrition, but it’s tasty and readily available. And most importantly, your horse will love the crunchy, refreshing taste of lettuce.
