How about some tasty horse treat recipes? Now that Valentine’s Day is behind us and we’ve gotten over all the lovey store decorations and smells of chocolate, it’s time to get down to a more serious topic… Did you remember to indulge your horse for Valentine’s Day? Even if you historically do your best to avoid the rose-colored holiday, you can custom craft a special meaning for this time of year by pampering your ponies and going all out for your horses!
A delicious, nutritious horse snack is the right way to give your team the extra love and attention they deserve, regardless of their age and occasion.
There are a few ways you can go about providing healthy horse treats for your favorite filly. If you are a creative crafter at heart, you can take to your kitchen and bake some fresh and wholesome ingredients up on your own. This would be a unique experience that could be shared with your loved ones, especially the kids you know! If you don’t have time to play Betty Crocker, however, there are many culinary artisans that sell balanced, organic delicacies that your stable is sure to love.
In case you’re the creative crafter, here are a few of our favorite homemade horse treats. They are Saratoga Stalls and pony approved!
Organic Apple Oatmeal Horse Treats
(Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)
Ingredients:
3 cups organic uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup organic applesauce
¼ cup organic molasses
½ cup organic flour
Directions:
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Next, add the molasses and applesauce and stir until well-incorporated.
- Once mixed, form the thick batter into teaspoon-sized balls and place them close together (but not touching) on a sprayed* cookie tray.
- Bake the treats for 15 to 20 minutes and then remove from oven.
- Leave the treats on the tray for 5 minutes to allow time for the treats to cool and harden.
- Once completely cool, store the treats in an airtight container.
- *When making treats, spray the cookie trays with coconut oil, a substitute of your choice, or grease the pans with butter.
(Thanks go out to Mother Earth News for this recipe.)
Baked Carrot Crisp Horse Treats
(Preheat oven to 400 degrees.)
Ingredients:
2 carrots, shredded
1.5 apple, shredded
1/3 cup molasses
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup bran
3/4 cup oatmeal
Directions:
- Generously grease a muffin tin.
- Mix carrots and apples into a bowl with molasses, bran, water, flour and oatmeal. Mixture should have a thick and doughy consistency. Add more bran if needed.
- Scoop dough into a muffin tin and bake in the oven for 30-50 minutes or until well cooked.
20-Minute Horse Treats
(Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)
Ingredients:
4-5 cups of oatmeal
2 cups of molasses
3 cups of grain
2-3 cups of flour
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of corn oil
Directions:
- Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the liquid ingredients.
- Mix thoroughly until the entire mixture is coated and moist.
- Add either liquid or solid until you’re able to form the mixture into small balls.
- Roll balls lightly in salt then press onto a cookie sheet. Or you can spread a layer of the mixture on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Horse Cookies
(Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)
Ingredients:
4 cups whole oats
1 can pumpkin
2 cups water
2 tsp baking powder
1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp honey or molasses (optional)
Directions:
- Mix the pumpkin and water together well.
- Add the flour, oats, and spices.
- Add the optional honey or molasses.
- Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.
No-Bake Sweet Grain and Apple Horse Snack
Ingredients:
1 large apple (hollowed)
Sweet grain
Dry oats
Shredded carrots
Molasses
Honey
Directions:
- Hollow apple and set aside.
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Fill the hollowed apple with the mixed ingredients.
- Store in refrigerator if not used right away.
Frozen Banana Mash Horse Treat
(Great for hot summer days.)
Ingredients:
4 Chopped frozen bananas (peel and all)
4 cups Shredded carrots
2 cups Grain
2 cups Oatmeal
1 cup Honey (optional)
Ice
Directions:
- This is a no-bake, frozen treat for summer days.
- Chop bananas and freeze for at least 1 hour.
- Shred Carrots and gather other ingredients.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl for additional freezing.
- Decide on small frozen treats or a large frozen block for your horse to work.
- Divide and freeze accordingly, in plastic containers.
- Pry frozen treat from bowl and offer to horse on a warm day.
- This treat can be served frozen or thawed, it’s up to you and your horse!
- If served thawed, it can be a good delivery system for medication.
Stuffed Pumpkin Horse Treat
(Have leftover pumpkins? Your horse would love one!)
Ingredients:
A whole pumpkin
Hay
Grain
Fruit of choice
Vegetables of choice
Directions:
- Cut a lid on your pumpkin.
- Do not remove insides.
- Stuff inside of pumpkin with ingredients.
- Put the lid back on and roll it to your horse.
- Watch her dive into the stuffed pumpkin horse treat with delight!
Aside from making your own homemade horse treats or buying nutritious horse snacks from a reliable source, there are other quick, fun ways to pamper your horse with a good horse treat. These include…
- Fresh fruits like apples, carrots, watermelon (including the rind), pineapple, pumpkin, strawberry and even kiwi are a nice occasional treats for horses.
- Nutritious veggies like celery, sweet potato, lettuce, turnips, and so on are great for horses but be sure to avoid vegetables that are known to cause gastro-intestinal distress. When in doubt, skip it!
Will your horse love these tasty horse treat recipes and snacks? We bet they will! These ideas all deliver a combination of healthy, fresh, and wholesome ingredients that are sure to delight your favorite mounts. The only problem you’ll have is running out too soon!
What kind of horse treats do you give your team? We’d love to hear your favorites in the comments below!
Saratoga Stalls is a premium national supplier of horse and barn products. For more information on custom barns or horse stalls please contact Curtis Gardner, CEO, at (800) 918-6765.
