Tomatoes are one of our favorite summer fruits, they’re fresh and juicy and no salad is complete without them. And if you’re a horse owner sometimes you might want to give your equine friend a change from the same old apples and carrots. So you might be wondering to yourself “can horses eat tomatoes?”.
Can Horses Eat Tomatoes?
Horses can’t eat tomatoes, in fact, tomatoes are poisonous and can make horses very ill. So horses should never be fed tomatoes. As well as this, you should make sure that horses don't have access to tomato plants.
Most of the time, horses won't like the taste of a tomato plant. However, when horses are hungry, they'll eat almost anything.
Why are Tomatoes Dangerous for Horses?
Tomatoes are members of the nightshade family of plants these are also known as Solanaceae plants and they're all toxic plants for horses and lots of other animals.
Other members of the nightshade family include potatoes, eggplant, bell pepper and some pasture plants such as horse nettle and deadly nightshade.
Solanine
The main concern with these plants is that they contain a toxin called Solanine. And this is what's highly toxic to animals. The solanine is found mostly in the green stems and leaves of the tomato plant but there are traces of solanine in the fruit too.
Alkaloids
As well as this, tomato plants contain an alkaloid called Atropine and another alkaloid called hyoscyamine which are also toxic to horses.
Atropine will affect the horse's saliva glands and the hyoscyamine will slow down your horses gut. So overall, they will have a bad effect on your horse's digestive system.
Horses Can't Vomit
When you're asking "can horses eat tomatoes?" then you need to know that the main danger when it comes to giving horses any concentrated food is that they can't vomit.
So if horses eat something toxic, like tomatoes, and they get even the slightest stomach upset then this can lead to colic. And even if your horse only eats a tiny amount of tomato, it may not cause poisoning but it can still cause digestive complaints. And ultimately it can lead to colic.
What are the Symptoms of Tomato Poisoning in Horses?
If horses eat a small amount of tomatoes then the symptoms of poisoning might be very mild. Mild symptoms include digestive discomfort, diarrhea and overall lethargy and depression. But if a horse has eaten lots of tomatoes or parts of the plant, then the symptoms will be much more severe.
Severe Symptoms
In severe cases, symptoms of poisoning might include excessive salivation and the horse may be disorientated, confused and weak on its legs. As well as this, it may have dilated pupils, a weak heart rate as well as breathing difficulties.
What to do if your Horse Eats Tomatoes?
If your horse has eaten a small piece of tomato or part of the plant then the chances are that it will be fine. That said, you should keep a close eye on your horse for the next 24 hours. And if there are any signs of colic, diarrhea or tomato poisoning then you need to call your vet.
If your horse has eaten a large number of tomatoes, particularly the green parts, or any other kind of plant from the nightshade family, such as potatoes, you need to call your vet immediately.
Just like with all types of poisoning, your horse will have a better chance of recovering if you catch it in the early stages.
Treatment
The vet will examine your horse and run blood and urine tests to establish if your horse has tomato poisoning. If the vet suspects that your horse has been poisoned by tomatoes then they may give your horse drugs or activated charcoal to try and get the toxins out of it's system.
As a general guide, your horse would have to eat 2.5mg of tomatoes per kilo of body weight for toxicity to occur. But it’s always safer to get the vet to decide toxicity.
Are Some Horses Immune to Tomato Poisoning?
Technically, no horses are immune to tomato toxicity, however, some horses might be somehow more tolerant of tomatoes than others. Some horse owners swear that they regularly feed their horses tomatoes without any adverse effects.
But to be on the safe side, you shouldn’t give your horse tomatoes because there are plenty of safer fruit and vegetable treats to feed it instead.
Treats that are Safe to Feed Your Horse
Apples and carrots are the traditional treats for horses and maybe even the odd sugar cube or two. But did you know you can feed horses a whole range of other fruit and vegetables?
As long as your horse doesn’t have any health problems, particularly metabolic ones like laminitis, then you can give it lots of different tasty fruits and veg.
Horses can eat a whole range of soft fruits and they'll love the taste of bananas and strawberries. They can also eat plums and peaches, but you must remove the large pits first.
And safe vegetables for an equine include cucumber, pumpkin and zucchini.
Feeding Tips
Before you give an equine a new treat, you should always do your research first to ensure that it’s not toxic to horses.
And you should always introduce new food and treats into your horse's diet slowly to prevent causing digestive upset.
And lastly, always wash fruit or vegetables before feeding them to horses. And cut them into bite-sized pieces so that they don't become a choking hazard.
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s good that you’ve asked the question "can horses eat tomatoes?", because tomatoes are toxic, and if you feed a horse too many, it can make it very ill. This means that you should never give horses tomatoes. Instead, you should give them a safer snack or treat to eat.
