Can Horses Eat Apples?

I was out at a petting farm with my son the other day when I saw someone feeding apples to the horses.

I’d never really given my own horses apples as I’d just never thought of it as something they would enjoy.

But seeing these horses, they certainly were enjoying those apples—a lot! I mentioned to my son that we should pick up some apples on the way home for our horses and see how they liked them.

I did collate some research before we actually fed them, though.

So, can horses eat apples?

Horses love apples and they make a great treat, but you should always feed them apples in moderation. If fed in too high quantities, apples can cause colic which is potentially fatal to horses. But in small amounts as a treat on top of their regular diet, apples make a great addition.

There’s a few details and things you need to know before going ahead and feeding apples to your horse, but they are in principle safe.

Just keep in mind everything I’ve set out here and you’ll have a great new snack for your horse.

Can apples kill horses?

Under normal conditions, it’s extremely unlikely that eating apple would ever kill a horse.

In wild horses, often the changing seasons can force them to eat too much of something (like apple) where they would normally rely on grasses for the majority of their diet.

They then gorge themselves to the point that they do damage.

Domestic horses have a more diversified diet, and so they’re better able to stomach apples, but it should still only be fed in moderation.

Too much apple can cause a number of problems that I’ll get into later.

Killing your horse with apple would be very difficult to do.

Are apples good for horses?

Apples are packed with so many healthy vitamins and nutrients that will benefit your horse.

First of all, they’re rich in fiber like most fruit, which is what your horse needs for a healthy diet.

Lots of fiber promotes healthy digestion.

Apples can also help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

They help support a healthy immune system, and antioxidants present in apples may even play a role in preventing some forms of equine cancer.

Apples are also rich in many vitamins like A and C, which support your horse’s immune system.

The important thing to remember is that it is in part because of an apple’s rich nutritional value that you need to feed them only in careful moderation.

It’s easy to oversaturate your horse with these healthy benefits to the point that you’re doing more harm than good.

How many apples can a horse eat a day?

If you’re being really safe, one, maybe two apples per day is a safe amount for your horse.

Make sure to cut the apple up into slices as a whole apple could pose a choking hazard.

To keep your horse as happy as healthy as possible, try and change up its treats each day.

An apple a day will be fine for your horse, but think about changing it out for different treats on different days.

This will keep your horse’s diet balanced and will keep them from getting bored of eating apples.

Why are apples bad for horses?

Apples, as well as some other plant foods like carrots, can cause what’s known as colic in horses.

Colic is a term used to describe a symptom of abdominal pain, caused by problems in the gastrointestinal tract.

It is most commonly caused by excess gas.

This gas is produced when things like apples are broken down in their gut.

So, if your horse eats too much apple, it will essentially become gassy.

This is especially problematic for horses as their abdominal wall is hanging to the ground which can make the problem worse.

Horse’s diets are more diversified now than they once were, but too much apple can still very easily cause problems like this.

Again, it would still take very large quantities to kill a horse with apples, but not very much at all to make it very uncomfortable.

You definitely don’t want either of these things.

With all that in mind, let’s look at different apple varieties.

Can a horse eat red apples?

There are countless varieties of apple in the world.

They’re one of the most ubiquitous fruits in the world.

Red apples represent many different varieties, but in general they are no more problematic than any apple.

Can a horse eat green apples?

Again, the same rules apply here.

Green apples are just as good for your horse as red apples.

The only green apples I would advise against giving to your horses is cooking apples.

Cooking apples are considerably harder to break down, and so they’re much more likely to create lots of excess gas when being broken down.

Green apples in general are fine, but don’t give cooking apples to your horses.

Moderation is always key, then.

Overfeeding your horse on a treat item is easy to do, as they will enjoy the apples a lot and it’s understandable to want to keep making your horses happy!

Horses have fairly simple diets, though, and apples should represent a small part of it.

As a treat they’re great and what’s great is that they can be fed by hand.

So, apples, in good moderation, are a great snack for your horses.