6 Horse Treat Recipes (Healthy Homemade Treats)
You want the best for your four-legged friend and that means finding the best horse treat recipes! Here we’ve tracked down 6 of the best homemade horse treats that your horse is sure to love.
These horse treats are easy and fun to make as rewards for shows, training or just to show you care. As a bonus, many of the ingredients in these homemade horse treats are good for building immunity and help treat an array of health issues.
Super Easy Carrot, Apple And Oat Crunchies
These crunchy treats contain some of your horse’s favorite foods: carrots, apples, and oats. Coconut oil is easier absorbed than other vegetable oil and is a great energy source that supports good digestion and can help prevent and heal ulcers in the mouth.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 cup grated apple
- 1 cup molasses (or honey)
- 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- A pinch salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/ 180℃
- Line a 9×13 inch (33 x 23cm) pan with a greased baking sheet.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Press dough evenly into the greased baking sheet, flatten out with your palms
- Bake until golden, about 40 minutes
- Allow about 15 minutes for the crunchies to harden before cutting into squares
- Gently remove pieces and place them onto a cooling rack to continue drying out
- Store in a sealed container
Minty Molasses Muffins
Your horse will love the sweet minty surprise on top of each horse treat! The flaxseed in these delicious treats is high in fibre and contains concentrated omega-3 fatty acids.
The flaxseed and the coconut oil promote shiny, healthy coats, protect joints and support gastric health. If you can’t find ground flaxseed, use a food processor to grind whole flaxseed.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup sweet feed
- 1 cup ground flaxseed
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 cup applesauce
- 4 grated carrots
- ½ cup brown sugar
- Extra: 1 bag mint candies
Method
- Preheat the oven to 300℉/ 150 ℃
- Grease mini muffin pans (about 3 dozen cups)
- Grease the measuring cup with oil beforehand to prevent molasses from sticking
- Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
- In a medium bowl, combine all the oats with the other dry ingredients
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir well.
- Spoon into greased mini muffin pan, filling to the rim
- Press a mint candy onto the top of each muffin
- Bake for about an hour checking regularly
- Allow to cool for a few minutes then move to a cooling rack
Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies
Most horses love the taste of peanut butter and it is a key ingredient in natural horse treats. However, just like us, some horses may have peanut allergies in which case you should find a nut-free horse treat recipe.
Cinnamon in moderation is good for insulin regulation in horses, helping them maintain a healthy weight.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 mashed bananas
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350℉/ 180℃
- Grease or line a large baking pan with wax paper
- Beat banana and peanut butter
- Mix in all the oats and add the remaining ingredients
- Add more flour or more oats if the mixture is too wet
- Spoon onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes
- Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container
Rice Crispy Balls
Your horse will love the crunchy cereal texture and the sweet flavor of the marshmallows in these yummy bites. These treats contain quite a bit of sugar so be sure not to give your horse too many at once!
If you wanted, you could leave out the sweet feed to make a human-friendly version of this homemade horse treat.
Ingredients
- 5 cups mini-marshmallows
- 1 cup sweet feed
- 3 cups rice Krispies
- 3 tablespoons butter
Method
- In a large pot, melt the butter on medium heat.
- Stir in the marshmallows until melted.
- Mix in the sweet feed and Rice Krispies
- Scoop batter and roll into balls (wetting your fingers helps prevent sticking)
- Cool the balls on a lined baking tray
Apple Doughnuts
These horse-friendly doughnut horse treats are yummy enough to eat yourself! The added ginger is a powerful anti-inflammatory and is helpful for horses prone to Colic.
These doughnuts look really pretty and are the perfect gift for a pony owner. You could also sell your homemade horse treats at the next showgrounds’ bake sale.
If you don’t have oat flour, you can blend whole oats in a food processor.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Oat flour
- 1 medium apple, grated
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- Rainbow sprinkles
- 1 teaspoon ginger spice
For The Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp water
Method
Doughnuts
- Preheat your oven to 325℉/ 160℃
- In a large bowl, mix the ginger spice into the flour
- Squeeze the moisture out of the grated apple using a paper towel
- Add the apple mix into the flour mixture
- Stir while adding water a little at a time until a dough forms
- Roll ping-pong ball-sized chunks of batter and place them on a lined baking tray
- Flatten each ball slightly and press a hole through the centre with a wooden spoon handle
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden
- Leave to cool completely
Icing
- Put the icing sugar in a small bowl and slowly add water a teaspoon at a time until the icing is smooth and a little runny.
- Ice cooled doughnuts and decorate with sprinkles.
Pumpkin Beer
A perfect treat to reward your horse and help him recover after a long ride. Apple cider vinegar and dark beers (like stout) aid digestion. Beer can even help provide relief from anhidrosis.
You can feed this to your horse out of a bowl after a long day of hard work. Be sure to throw away any leftovers as the mixture can spoil.
Ingredients
- 1 cup alfalfa pellets
- 2 cups hot water
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup Guinness Stout
- ½ cup chia seeds
Method
- Pour the hot water over the alfalfa pellets and stand for about 15 minutes
- Add in the apple cider vinegar, pumpkin and chia seeds
- Pour the beer over the mixture and serve immediately
Our Advice
There are plenty of combinations you can create with the above recipes by substituting for what you have in the pantry and adding your horse’s favorite fruit and vegetables.
Just remember that horses can’t eat everything we can. Be sure to check that whatever you put in a homemade horse treat is safe for horses to eat.