Can Horses Eat Carrots? (A Complete Guide)

Q: Can Horses Eat Moldy Carrots?

No, you should never feed your horse moldy food of any sort. All moldy fruits and vegetables should be composted, not given to a horse for consumption.

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If you own a horse, you are probably always looking for information on which foods can be fed to horses and what it’s safe to give to your horse. Carrots are known as a very common food for horses, but are they a healthy treat?

Can Horses Eat Carrots?

Yes, horses can eat carrots. Feeding your horse carrots is fine, and they are one of the most popular treats ever for horses. Many horses love carrots and they are great for training, as well as full of vitamins and goodness. However, you should not feed your horse a huge amount of carrots.

Horses can eat carrots and they make up part of a balanced diet for your horse. There are many vegetables that horses can safely have, but make sure you aren’t feeding treats all the time; your horse also needs to get nutrients from its hay and the rest of its normal diet, or it may start to suffer from deficiencies.

Having a few pieces of carrot in your pockets for your horse to munch on throughout a long day is fun, and eating carrots is totally fine – as long as it is done in moderation. Treats should always be fed in small amounts, even those that are good for your horses.

Benefits

So, what vitamins and minerals do carrots contain, and why might your horse get benefits from eating carrots?

HelpfulHorseHints says that carrots have vitamin C and vitamin A in them, which help to support your horse’s immune system and keep it healthy. Although the amount of nutrients in a carrot varies according to its size, you will find that carrots contain about three grams of sugar and a gram or two of fiber.

That means that they are reasonably healthy for horses because the fiber helps to stop the sugar from being absorbed too fast. High sugar treats that do not have much fiber aren’t great for horses, so it’s a good idea to pick ones like carrots.

They are also reasonably low in carbohydrates, which is good because your horse is less at risk of gaining weight by eating them. Horse owners will be well aware that it’s important to find treats for your horses that aren’t too high in carbohydrates – just as it is when we eat treats ourselves.

That said, carrots have enough carbohydrates to be valuable to horses, which burn a lot of energy. These vegetables give your horse fuel for its movement, especially if your horse is particularly active.

Risks

So, those are the advantages, but what are the risks of feeding carrots to your horse?

The biggest risk is that most horses love carrots and would eat them all day if they were given the option. Obviously, this is not good for your horse s diet and could lead to problems with nutrient imbalances.

EquineDesire points out that if you over-feed your horse on carrots, it may not eat the rest of its food, and will therefore start to lack in minerals and nutrients that it needs.

A single day won’t do any harm, but if this happens consistently, your horse could get very sick.

Horses need to get most of their food from grass and hay, because these are balanced sources of nutrients and have the right amount of volume to keep the horse feeling full and satisfied, while allowing the horse to eat sufficient quantities.

Eating carrots is not a problem in itself, but many people think carrots can be fed to horses indiscriminately, and don’t think about the quantities. This causes imbalances and leaves your horse vulnerable to all kinds of conditions as a result of nutrient deficiencies.

While they are high in vitamins, carrots do not contain everything that your horse needs. Don t feed your horse too many carrots in one day, or too many overall, or you could expose it to sickness.

Are Carrots Good For Horses?

Yes, carrots are good for horses as long as they are fed in moderation. They give your horse plenty of valuable nutrients and they are also a nice way to treat your horse when it has been well behaved and worked hard.

All owners want their horses to feel appreciated, and because carrots are so easy to chop into chunks and keep in your pocket, they are a particularly nice and convenient way to show your appreciation. Just make sure you don’t go overboard!

Do Horses Like Carrots?

Yes, horses like carrots, although this is not a golden rule. Like people, individual horses have unique tastes, and it is not unheard of for a horse to refuse carrots in favor of other vegetables.

According to EquestrianCo, it is a good idea to feed your horse a mixture of vegetables, including things like celery, lettuce, sweet potatoes, and turnips.

While your horse might love carrots more than any of these other treats, offering a variety is a good way to ensure that it gets a well-balanced diet. However, it is easier to over-feed your horse when you offer varied treats (because it seems like they haven’t had much of any one thing), so do be careful about this.

How Many Carrots Can Horses Eat A Day?

How many carrots per day is okay for a horse? This is going to depend a bit on the size of the horse, what activities it is doing, and what other food you give it, but on the whole, a horse should not have more than two carrots in a day.

HelpfulHorseHints recommend breaking these up into several sessions, as horses generally prefer to eat small meals and won’t enjoy a huge amount of carrot all at once.

How Many Carrots Can Horses Eat In One Session?

So, in terms of a single session, how many carrots should you feed to your horse? It is very much dependent on your routine; if you only give your horse treats twice a day, then a single carrot in each (or half a carrot, if you don’t want your horse to have too many carrots) could be sufficient.

However, if you offer smaller amounts of treats but more frequently, aim to give it half a carrot or even less per session, and then carry on with your normal routine. Your horse will enjoy a small treat and look forward to the next one.

Can A Horse Eat Too Many Carrots?

Yes, a horse certainly can eat too many carrots. If you feed your horse carrots too often, it will not eat enough grass and hay and may start to suffer from nutrient deficiencies.

Where To Buy Horse Carrots

You might want specific horse carrots for your horse (although they can eat any). These are the enormous, satisfying carrots that are always fed to horses in movies.

You may be able to get these at your local grocery store; they are almost always available loose and are fine for humans to eat too.

However, BonAppetit recommends bypassing these in favor of small carrots, claiming that horse carrots have less sweetness and flavor and tend to be more watery. Your horse may not mind, but it’s worth thinking about.

How To Give A Horse A Carrot

Some people recommend cutting up carrots into chunks so that large carrots cannot choke a horse. This makes it easy to moderate how many your horse eats (as long as you pay attention to the number of chunks you offer) and you don’t have to take away the treat to give them half a carrot.

However, EquineDesire recommends either feeding the horse a whole carrot that you supervise them eating, or cutting them into chunks and putting them in a bucket so that the horse eats them slowly and chews properly.

FAQs

Can Horses Eat Cooked Carrots?

Yes, horses are fine with cooked food. As HelpfulHorseHints points out, however, you may reduce the nutrients by cooking, and there is no particular advantage to this.

Can Horses Eat Frozen Carrots?

Frozen carrots seem to be fine for a horse to eat, although some people raise the idea that these could potentially cause a risk of colic. In general, you may want to defrost carrots before feeding them to your horse.

Can Horses Eat Moldy Carrots?

According to EquineWorld, no, you should never feed your horse moldy food of any sort. All moldy fruits and vegetables should be composted, not given to a horse for consumption.

Can Horses Eat Purple Carrots?

Yes, horses are fine to eat purple carrots. These dark carrots might look a little strange, but there’s no issue with feeding them to your horse.

If purple carrots are what you have to hand, they are totally fine.

Can Horses Eat Rainbow Carrots?

Rainbow carrots are also good for horses; indeed, carrots of any color should be okay. There’s no issue with feeding any colored carrots to horses, so if you want to make your horse’s food pretty, go ahead.

Can Horses Eat Carrot Tops?

Yes, carrot tops are also fine for horses.

They are edible even to people, but we generally prefer to remove them because they can be a little gritty and tough. Your horse won’t have any issue with this, however.

Feel free to feed your horse carrots without removing the tops; they will eat them just fine.

Can Horses Eat Baby Carrots?

Baby carrots are just fine for horses as well. They don’t even need chopping, unlike large carrots, so you can just feed them to your horse as they are.

Can A Diabetic Horse Eat Carrots?

Feeding treats to a diabetic horse can be challenging.

Carrots, unfortunately, aren’t a great option. Although they aren’t the highest sugar treat you can find, they are not suitable for a diabetic horse.

Can A Horse With Laminitis Eat Carrots?

Again, unfortunately not, no. Do not give carrots to a horse that suffers from laminitis. They aren’t a suitable treat.

Can All Breeds Of Horses Eat Carrots?

Yes, horses can all eat carrots. However, if you know that your horse is a gulper, not a chewer, make sure you cut the carrots up small.

Can Baby Horses Have Carrots?

A baby horse should not be given anything but milk from its mother.

Do not feed baby horses carrots, even if you have mushed them up small. They don’t need them and should not be given them.

Can Miniature Horses Eat Carrots?

According to LewisMill, it is fine to feed carrots to a miniature horse in moderation. You may want to reduce the amount compared with a large horse, but there won’t be any issue with feeding a miniature horse carrots.

Can Foals Eat Carrots?

You can feed a foal carrots, again in moderation, as long as they have been cut up. You should not feed a foal whole carrots or even large chunks of carrot, as it is at risk of choking.

Slice carrots into small pieces and keep a close watch on how many carrots you are giving to it.

Don’t feed a foal large amounts of carrots; you want it to eat plenty of grass so that it has a balanced diet while growing.

Can Horses Eat Carrot Cake?

You probably should not feed your horse carrot cake. Neesness suggests that it may be okay in small quantities because a horse is capable of handling a little bit of sugar, but it’s probably not a great idea to feed your horse carrot cake except very occasionally and in small quantities.

Make sure the ingredients are horse safe and there are no chemicals that could have a bad effect on the horse.

Conclusion

So, overall, horses love carrots and small amounts of carrots are good for your horse, but you shouldn’t ever feed your horse carrot in large amounts. They are healthy as an occasional treat, but not as a replacement for grass or hay.

Don’t give your horse more than two carrots per day, and remember to check it can’t gulp the carrots down and choke if it doesn’t chew its food carefully!