Raisins are a popular, healthy snack around the world and they’re so sweet, they’re also known as nature's candy. If you’ve spent any time around horses, you know how much they love sugar and candy. So as a horse owner, you might be wondering can horses eat raisins? If you want to know the facts about horses and raisins, take a look at this vital information below.
Can Horses Eat Raisins?
Dried grapes or raisins are non-toxic and perfectly safe for horses to eat. Horses can eat all types of raisins, including dark and golden ones. However, they have a sensitive digestive system, so you should feed horses raisins in moderation.
Are Raisins Healthy for Horses?
Grapes and raisins make a very healthy snack for horses. However, when grapes are dried their nutrients and sugar become more concentrated. Overall, this means the nutritional content of grapes is different from raisins.
Raisins don't contain any fat, but they’re high in sugar, calories and carbohydrates, so they’re a good treat for active horses. They’re full of soluble and insoluble fiber too, which is fantastic for your horse's gut health. Furthermore, raisins contain plenty of antioxidants, which will help to cleanse your horse of toxins and keep their bodily systems running smoothly.
Raisins are packed full of essential minerals, including iron, potassium, copper, manganese, boron and calcium. Overall, these minerals support your horse's blood, bones and muscles, they help to heal wounds and may even improve your horse's brain function.
As far as vitamins go, raisins are high in vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Together, these vitamins can strengthen your horse's immune system and boost their mood.
Warnings About Feeding Horses Raisins
As long as you feed them in the right quantities, raisins make a very healthy snack for your horse. However, if you feed your horse too many raisins all at once, this can lead to short and long term health problems.
A horse's digestive system isn’t designed to deal with concentrated food in large amounts. So horses are at risk of colic if they eat too many raisins all at once. Furthermore, excessive amounts of sugar can lead to mood swings and malnutrition in horses.
You should only feed your horse a small handful of raisins at a time, and you shouldn’t give them raisins every day. Limit their raisin intake to a few handfuls per week and introduce raisins slowly into their diet.
Just give your horse three or four raisins at first and observe them for 24 hours. If your horse is fine, you can increase their raisin intake gradually over a week or so. However, if your horse has any gastric upset, you shouldn't feed them any more raisins.
Most horses love raisins. However, if your horse has any health problems, speak to your vet before you feed them raisins. Horses with metabolic conditions such as Cushing's, laminitis and insulin resistance are very sensitive to sugar, so you shouldn’t feed raisins to horses with any of these conditions. Raisins are also very high in potassium, so you shouldn’t give them to horses with HYPP.
Tips on How to Prepare Raisins for Horses
The great thing about raisins is that you don't have to prepare them before you feed them to your horse. Raisins are very small, so they don't pose a choking hazard. However, you should always wash fruits and vegetables such as raisins before you give them to your horse to remove any pesticides.
Many horse owners enjoy making treats for their horses at home, and raisins are a fantastic ingredient for homemade horse treats. You can also add a handful of raisins to your horse's regular food to make it a bit more interesting. Or feed your horses raisins by hand as a reward for good behavior.
Conclusion
So, can horses eat raisins? According to vets, horse owners and equine nutritionists, they most certainly can. Raisins are a fantastic treat for horses. They're packed full of minerals and don't pose a choking hazard to your horse. However, raisins are a concentrated food, so you should always feed them in moderation and check with your vet before you give them to a horse with health problems.
