It’s a well-known fact that horses love apples and carrots. But did you know that they can enjoy a whole range of other fruits and vegetables too? Horses can benefit from having a mix of fruit and vegetable treats in their diet. But before you give your equine friend any new treats, you need to make sure that it’s safe for them to eat. So if you’ve found yourself wondering “can horses eat zucchini?” then you’ve come to the right place.
Can Horses Eat Zucchini?
Zucchini is also known as courgette or summer squash. And even though zucchini looks a bit different from round, yellow winter squashes, they’re part of the same family. Squash and zucchinis are fruits and not vegetables because they have their seeds on the inside. And the positive note is that both squash and zucchini are safe for horses to eat.
Is Zucchini Healthy for Horses?
Just like all fruits and vegetables, zucchini is full of vitamins and minerals. As well as this, it’s low in sugar and fat too. Therefore, it’s a very healthy treat for your horse.
Zucchinis contain high dose of vitamin A which will help to keep your horse's eyes healthy. They also contain vitamin C and K as well as a range of B vitamins. Together these vitamins will support your horse's immune system and metabolism.
Zucchinis contain quite a lot of minerals too, the main one being manganese. This is a good mineral for your horse's kidneys, liver and pancreas. They also contain lots of potassium and folates. And these are good for your horse's bones, muscles and nervous system.
And just like a lot of fruit and vegetables zucchinis are a great source of fiber and antioxidants. They contain soluble and insoluble fiber which will help your horses digestive system function smoothly.
And the high levels of antioxidants in zucchinis make them a great treat for active horses. This is because horses who exercise lots are more at risk of toxins accumulating in their body. And antioxidants help to filter these harmful toxins out of your horse’s system.
Warnings About Feeding Your Horse Zucchini
When it comes to feeding your horse zucchini, the first thing you need to know is that you shouldn’t overfeed your horse. Just like all treats, zucchini should be fed in moderation. Horses are grazing animals which means they find it hard to digest large amounts of concentrated foods.
So if you feed your horse too much zucchini all at once then this can lead to colic.
So to avoid giving your horse colic, you shouldn’t give your horse more than half a zucchini at a time. And as part of a healthy, balanced diet, you should only feed your horse zucchini maximum a couple of times per week.
And when it comes to giving your horse any new treat, then the golden rule among horse owners is that you must introduce it slowly. This is because horses have a very delicate digestive system that can be easily upset by diet changes.
This means that the first time you feed your horse zucchini, you should only give it a tiny piece at first. You should monitor your horse for the next 24 hours. If your horse seems fine, then you can slowly increase the amount over a week or two. However, if your horse has any bloating or diarrhea after eating zucchini then you shouldn’t give them any more.
And one last thing you need to bear in mind about zucchini is that it contains potassium. So this means you shouldn’t feed it to horses with HYPP. And if you have a horse with any kind of metabolic issues, you should always speak to your vet first before feeding it new treats.
Cooked vs Raw Zucchini for Horses
Horses can safely eat both raw and cooked zucchini. But when you cook zucchini, it loses a lot of its nutritional value. Except in the case of vitamin C, this actually increases. But overall, it’s better to feed your horse raw zucchini.
Can Horses Eat Zucchini Peels?
The peel of the zucchini is very thin and easy for horses to chew and it's non-toxic to horses. So this means that horses can safely eat the peel of a zucchini. As well as this, the peel is the healthiest part of a zucchini.
It contains more antioxidants than the flesh and is more concentrated in vitamins and minerals too. Yellow-skinned zucchinis in particular are thought to contain a lot more antioxidants than green ones.
So overall, it’s better to leave the peel on a zucchini when you feed it to a horse.
Tips on How to Prepare Zucchini for Horses
When you’re feeding a horse an unpeeled zucchini, you must wash it first. This way, you’ll remove any pesticides that might be harmful to your hoses. When you wash it, keep an eye out for any moldy or rotten parts too. The bacteria on moldy fruit and vegetables can make your horse very ill. So always remove any rotten parts before feeding zucchini to your horse.
The next thing you need to do is to cut the zucchini up into sticks or chunks before serving it to your horse. This is because whole fruits and vegetables can become a choking hazard if your horse doesn’t chew them properly. For older horses, or horses with dental problems, you should shred zucchini before feeding it to them. Alternatively, you can feed older horses cooked zucchini which is much softer.
Conclusion
Now you know the answer to your question, “can horses eat zucchini?” you can feed your horse this fruit with confidence. Zucchini is a good treat for active horses because it contains lots of antioxidants. But always make sure that you feed zucchini in moderation. Because just like with all treats, feeding too much of it can upset your horse's digestive system.
