Can Horses Eat Blackberries?

I was out wandering the trails near my house the other day when I noticed a huge bush brimming with blackberries. I couldn’t believe how many there were, so I came back with a basket later and picked a load to take home.

I had planned to bake them into a cobbler, but I still had a lot leftover when I was done.

So, I decided to give the leftovers to my horses.

I wasn’t completely sure if blackberries were safe for horses, though, so I decided to look into it first.

So, can horses eat blackberries?

Yes, blackberries are safe for horses and make a great treat. They’re very high in a lot of healthy nutrients, but for this reason you do need to be careful of moderation. If they eat too much, they could easily become sick. Moderation is always key in feeding horses treats.

So, I safely fed my leftover blackberries to my horses and they had a great time with them and made a huge mess.

Let’s look a bit closer at the benefits associated with blackberries and how often you should give them to your horse.

What are the health benefits of blackberries for horses?

Blackberries are packed with all sorts of healthy nutrients that your horse will love and will be great for their health.

There are plenty of health benefits to speak of when it comes to blackberries in your horse’s diet.

First of all, they’re packed with vitamin C.

Vitamin C is integral to bone formation, connective tissue, and in general vitamin C helps the body heal wounds and regenerate skin.

They also help to absorb iron into the system.

High amounts of vitamin K also helps blood clot and deficiencies can lead to problems like easy bruising and heavy bleeding.

Blackberries are also very high in fiber, which is great for horses.

Most of a horse’s diet needs to be fiber, since most of what they eat is grass or hay.

A high fiber snack like blueberries helps aid digestion, reduce cholesterol and reduces common problems like bloating in horses.

One cup of raw blackberries has about 8 grams of fiber.

They’re also rich in manganese, a mineral essential to healthy bone development and immune system.

Manganese helps your horse metabolize carbs, amino acids and cholesterol.

It also plays a role in the formation of collagen.

Blackberries are great for dental health, too, and while this has been more studied in humans than horses, the same benefits will apply to some degree.

We all know how bad horse teeth can get.

But how many blackberries should my horse be eating?

Read on to find out.

How many blackberries can horses eat?

All that said, the fact that blackberries are so packed with healthy nutrients is exactly why you need to exercise restraint when giving your horses blackberries.

Too many can easily be a problem and can cause pain and digestive issues, as well as long term issues if fed too often.

In general, despite their large stature, a good amount of blackberries to give to a horse is a cup a day.

Any more than this, and they’re probably getting too much of a good thing.

Make sure to get a healthy amount of hay and grass grazing into their diet, and top it up with a treat of blackberries every now and then.

You could feed them one cup every day, but for a better balance in their diet, you might want to swap it out for other snacks.

Can horses eat blackberry leaves?

But the fruit isn’t the only part of the blackberry plant.

What about the rest of the bush?

Well, the good news is that pretty much the whole bush represents a fantastic foraging opportunity for your horse.

They may or may not enjoy the leaves; certainly, if there’s fruit on the bush, they will go for that first instead of the leaves, unsurprisingly.

But horses do like to eat leaves, and the leaves of a blackberry bush are totally safe for your horse.

Can horses eat blackberry stems?

Finally, what about the stems of the bush?

As you can probably imagine, this is the part of the bush your horse is likely to enjoy the least.

There’s very little nutrition there and, again, if there’s fruit on the bush, that’s what they will be interested in.

That said, the stems represent no danger or health hazard for your horse.

They’re perfectly safe to eat and I know that I have had horses in the past who would happily chew on stems and branches.

Blackberry bushes represent a potential bonanza for your horse; just remember, moderation is always key.

So, blackberries, and all parts of the plant, are safe for your horse to eat.

They’re a juicy, sugary snack, and you should always be careful of how much and how often you feed your horses blackberries.

All those nutrients are great and healthy in moderation, but too much can easily cause pain and discomfort for your horse.

Not overfeeding is the key.