With Halloween just around the corner, pumpkins can be found everywhere. At this time of year many of our customers may be wondering if it is safe to feed pumpkin to their horse as a treat.
Pumpkin, like many of other fruits and vegetables, is suitable to feed to horses but whether your horse eats it or not may come down to their personal preference.
However, before you go rushing out to the supermarket and stocking up on the biggest pumpkins you can find for your horse there are a few things to consider.
Less is more!
Horses are designed to be trickle feeders, eating little and often. Because of this, if you offer them a treat they will always want more. However, it is best to limit the number of treats that they are getting for several reasons.
Frequent treating can add extra calories to our horse’s diet which may be overlooked. Whilst it is nice to be able to offer our horses a treat every now and again, this should be limited. For horses that are good doers or those that put-on weight easily we don’t want to be adding to their waistline with lots of treats. Instead, it is also best to provide them with fibre as the main portion of their diet, as this is what they are predominantly designed to eat and keep treats such as fruit and vegetables for special occasions.
Frequent treating can lead to bad habits such as nipping or biting behaviour- particularly if your horse learns that they always get a treat after a certain event like being ridden.
Natural foraging behaviour
Instead of treating them by hand you can add some pumpkin to their feed or hide some slithers in their hay. This will help to replicate their natural foraging behaviour and keep them entertained in the stable.
Introduce new food slowly
Whilst it can be fun for your horse to have a whole pumpkin to play with, and fun for you to watch them enjoying it, for a horse that is not used to having pumpkin it is best to only offer them a small amount. The horse has a very delicate bacterial population in their hind gut which can be easily disrupted by changes in diet. Feeding too many treats or something that your horse isn’t used to can cause digestive upset. For this reason it is best to only offer one or two pieces at a time if you want to try some pumpkin with your horse and gradually increase the amount that they are having, just as you would when starting them on a new feed.
Reduce the risk of choke
Greedy horses or speedy eaters may take large bites of pumpkin, excited at the prospect of something new and gulp it down without properly chewing. This could cause them to choke. Instead cut the pumpkin up into pieces for them. Slithers of pumpkin would be better than cubes- you don’t want to go too small either. It is also advisable to remove the stalk from the pumpkin.
Don’t be alarmed if your horse doesn’t like pumpkin- much like us they all have their own personal preferences and some horse can be sceptical of new foods. Carrots, parsnips, swede, apples and pears can all be offered to your horse as a treat or alternatively use our tasty Pure Treats.
Certain vegetables shouldn’t be offered, such as onions, cabbages and brussels sprouts as these produce intestinal gas. Vegetables that are part of the nightshade family should also be avoided. Always check with a nutritionist before feeding if you are unsure.
Free advice from the Pure Feed Nutritional Team
For advice on feeding your horse or for more information about Pure Feed contact our friendly nutritional team. You can email nutrition@purefeed.com or call 01458 333 333. You can also request a free diet plan for your horse.
