Can horses eat
Carrots, just like fresh spring grass, may be made up mostly of water, but they still have a relatively high sugar content, so feeding too much can lead to colic or laminitis, especially in horses with metabolic syndrome or Cushing's disease, or those with a history of founder.
Do not feed rotten carrots. In rotten carrots, the potassium content is very high, which can cause thin manure in the horses.
While some horses are snobby about just what they'll eat (only apples with no brown spots!) and others will eat just about anything (slimy carrots? No problem!), there are certain foods that should never be offered to equines—and there are some more-unusual ones you may just have to try!
Break carrots and other treats into small pieces.
Some horses will get especially excited by treats and try to gulp them down. They may even swallow with such voracity that they wind up choking. Break up carrots with your hands or cut them into small pieces.
Almost any fruits, and many vegetables, are safe treats for healthy horses. Apples and carrots are traditional favorites. You can safely offer your horse raisins, grapes, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe or other melons, celery, pumpkin, and snow peas.
These vegetables are absolutely NOT safe for your horse to eat: avocados, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions, regular potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. Avoid feeding horses these vegetables at all costs!
Heloise did not disappoint. The columnist explained that those "hairy" bunches that grow on your carrots are actually small roots that are parched and in need of water. Heloise says these carrots are safe to eat unless they are slimy and limp.
Carrots are primarily water (85 to 90 percent), so they do assist in keeping a horse hydrated. Assuming one five-gallon bucket of carrots is a meal, the horse would be consuming just 1.5 pounds of dry matter, of which 25 percent is water-soluble carbohydrates.
Both peppermints and carrots are relatively high in sugar, and while small amounts will not trigger a laminitis episode, large amounts might. Apples are other common treats that are high in sugar (more so than carrots).
Box privet is the most dangerous, as eating even small quantities can kill a horse.
Contaminated hay can cause illness to the horse that consumes it. Symptoms of botulism in horses include weakness, muscle tremors, inability to swallow, loss of muscle tone in the tail, paralysis, and incoordination.
Because the horse doesn't have metabolic issues, there is probably no harm with feeding this many carrots. The biggest concern would be if the horse was not consuming enough forage with the carrots and coming up a bit short on certain nutrients.
Horses can eat banana peels, but not all of them will be interested in eating them, owing to their bitter taste. The peels are just as healthy for your horse as the banana itself, also containing potassium and vitamin B.
Grass – horses love grass. It's their natural food and great for their digestive system (although beware of your horse eating too much lush grass in spring as this can cause laminitis).
You can tell that a carrot is bad if the texture of the carrot changes to super soft and bendy and if there is some discoloration on your carrots, like white spots or even some black and slimy spots. These soft spots will also eventually turn very mushy and disgusting.
Some moldy foods are beyond repair, but it is safe to eat some, such as carrots, after removing the area around visible mold. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is safe to eat carrots and other firm vegetables after cutting at least one inch below and around any mold spots.
First cut carrot greens from the carrot root, then cut the stiff stems right under where the greens start to grow. The stems are perfectly edible, but can sometimes be very tough so we want to use the softer stem areas, which are right under where the leaves begin to grow.
Onions and Garlic
Vegetables like garlic and onions are members of the family of plants called the “allium” family. (The allium family of plants also includes chives, shallots and leeks.) These plants should generally be avoided by horses because they can damage red blood cells and lead to sickness.
Carrots. Carrots are the treat we all agreed was the one horses like to eat the most. A simple carrot is a real treat for horses, providing vitamins essential to horses' health.
A. Apples make an excellent treat for a lot of horses, and many owners enjoy feeding them. It's a good idea to chop them up, because an overly ambitious horse might try to swallow an apple whole. You're correct that apple seeds contain a substance called amygdalin—a protective mechanism for the fruit.
Carrots - as they are fed to the horse, in a fresh state - are NOT high in sugar or NSC (non-structural carbohydrates). Fresh carrots are - by official human food definition - a low sugar food at less than 5% sugar. Carrots are around 80% water, so any sugar in them is diluted i.e. they are mostly water.
Cutting the carrots into thin slices will prevent a large chunk from becoming lodged in your horse's esophagus. “Carrots contain vitamin A which is needed for healthy eyes, mucus membranes, skin and hair,” states Mays. “Fortunately, fresh pastures and quality hay provide horses with most of their needed vitamin A.
Can Horses Eat Cucumbers? Yes, horses can eat cucumbers – a welcome answer to those of you with an overabundance of cucumbers growing in your gardens. Cucumbers are a fantastic source of vitamins such as A, K, and C, as well as potassium. What's more, cucumber skin provides horses with a natural dietary fibre.