Everyone loves a good treat (or a few) for Halloween, and our horses should be no exception!
True, they shouldn’t eat most candy (spoiler: it isn’t good for us either), but that doesn’t mean
they can’t enjoy a special sweet treat for the holiday.
Here are a few easy and *mostly* healthy recipes I’ve gathered for you:
Healthy Pumpkin Treat
(adapted from Cowgirl Magazine)
Ingredients:
1 small pumpkin
Chopped apples, carrots, pears, or other horse-friendly fruits (no pits)
Handful of your horse’s feed/grain (optional)
Directions:
Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the insides (you can leave some seeds as
they are a natural parasite repellent!) Fill the pumpkin with chopped fruit and a handful of your
horse’s feed or grain if desired. Put the top back on the pumpkin and give it to your horse.
They’ll have to work a bit to get at what’s inside, but they’ll no doubt enjoy this Halloween treat!
Caution: Don’t feed this treat to horses with impaired dental function as it may cause choking.
Instead, you can mix pumpkin puree with the chopped fruit to give them in a bucket if you
wish.
Candy Corn Pumpkin Muffins
(adapted from Schneiders)
Ingredients:
• 18 ounces of oats
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• Candy Corn
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients except the candy corn in a large bowl. Spoon
out evenly sized-balls onto a greased baking sheet. Press a candy corn into the top of each ball
and bake for 15 minutes.
Caution: These treats should not be fed to insulin-resistant horses or those with metabolic
problems.
Healthy & Crunchy Pumpkin Treats
(adapted from Barn Manager)
Ingredients:
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup alfalfa pellets
1/4 flax meal or chia seeds
Directions:
In a bowl or small bucket, soak alfalfa pellets in warm water until they are completely soft. This
may take an hour or more. Once they’re well on their way, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
When pellets are ready, drain off excess water. Mix in pumpkin and flax meal or chia seeds.
Spoon into quarter-size lumps and place one inch apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 45
minutes or until they are crunchy. Check throughout to ensure they don’t burn.
Happy Halloween to you and your horses!
