They avoid bitter and sour things. Researchers believe that selective taste buds are designed to protect horses from ingesting toxic plants, and that may be the reason horses have an aversion to bitter tasting things.
Any kind of a fruit that has a “stone” in it (or pit), like whole peaches, avocados, and cherries, can be dangerous for a horse, because they could choke on the pit.
Pesticides, Herbicides, And Rodenticides
It may not come as a surprise that herbicides and rodenticides can cause toxicosis in horses if ingested. If horses ingest plants that have been sprayed with phenoxy acid herbicides, they can become ill or even die.
Under no circumstances should tomatoes be fed to horses, she says. They contain multiple toxins in the fruit and plant that are poisonous to horses and many other animals. Tomatoes come from the Solanaceae family, which also includes deadly nightshade and many other toxic plants.
Potatoes
As members of the nightshade family, potatoes are toxic to horses. Raw potatoes are more dangerous than cooked potatoes, but potato poisoning is possible will all types of this starchy vegetable.
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. Most horses will chew these treats before swallowing, but horses that gulp large pieces of a fruit or vegetable have a risk of choking.
Sugar in and of itself is not dangerous for horses. The presence of carbohydrates in your horse's feed is therefore logical and natural, but too much sugar can lead to health problems. An important rule of thumb: don't give your horse more energy than it needs.
There is no harm in occasionally feeding bread, but it is not the most nutritious feedstuff when used as the sole concentrate. While bread is chock full of calories, it provides few nutrients. When only bread is fed with hay, the major nutritional problem is an imbalance and/or deficiency of some minerals and vitamins.
The fight against the horse's worst enemy: the fly
Anyone who rides horses will know how much of a pain flies are during the summer months; capable of ruining the best-planned hack, dressage test and jumping around!
* The smell of predator urine causes a fright response in horses and this persists even if the horse has never met such a predator. * Strong and unfamiliar smells like eucalyptus oil can cause a similar reaction.
While a lot of time is spent focussed on horses that can't eat grain in their diet, cereal grains such as oats, barley, triticale, corn, rice, rye, sorghum and wheat form a valuable component of many horse's rations.
Overfeeding garlic can be dangerous to your horse as it may allow unfriendly bacteria to flourish affecting the health of the horse's gastrointestinal tract. Garlic fed in large amounts can also be harmful. This is because it can cause toxicity and body anaemia.
Salt is an electrolyte - and the most crucial mineral in the equine diet and helps to maintain optimum pH levels. Sodium levels are measured by the brain, which signals the horse to drink. If sodium blood concentration is low, the signal to drink water will be greatly diminished.
What is this? Do horses like humans? Studies have shown that horses express positive emotional reactions to some humans, and negative emotional reactions to others, indicating that horses are capable of developing a strong positive bond with a human.
Bananas are a healthy source of potassium for horses and are a fruit they really enjoy eating. Bananas are a very popular food for riders to give their race horses as they give that extra boost of energy. You can feed bananas to horses with the skin still on as the whole fruit is beneficial for their health.
In simple terms, horses eat grass and hay or haylage, but salt, concentrates and fruits or vegetables can also enhance their diets, depending on the required work regime and available feed.
As they have very sensitive digestive systems, overeating sugar of any kind may cause gastrointestinal problems. Overall, honey is not a bad thing. It is a good source of energy for horses, and in moderation is ok, but overdoing it will cause problems.
For the most part, apples are healthy for horses to eat and most horses absolutely love them. Apples contain potassium, fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C. They also contain antioxidants that help destroy damaged molecules in the body that often cause inflammation and other issues.
Garlic, onions and other similar foods such as leeks, chives and shallots contain n-propyl disulphide, which is a toxic component for horses. N-propyl disulphide can destroy red blood cells which leads to a condition known as Heinz Body Anaemia.
Carrots are also high in potassium, making them unsuitable for horses with Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP). Generally, you can give a healthy, average-sized horse about two large carrots per day or two small handfuls of baby carrots.