Can Horses Eat Candy Canes?

Last Christmas, we bought my son a big pack of traditional peppermint candy canes, and he fell in love with this old-style candy.

He’s always been one for sharing, so it didn’t take long before he started asking if we could give candy canes to our horses.

Now, my initial reaction was that candy canes probably aren’t safe for horses for a whole host of reasons.

But, nonetheless, loathe to disappoint him, I decided to do some research and look into the question.

So, can horses eat candy canes?

The answer is no, virtually all candy is not safe for horses. Many horses suffer from high insulin resistance, and sugar in the concentrations found in hard candy can be extremely dangerous for them. There are much better ways of getting treats into your horse’s diet other than candy.

So, sadly, I had to tell my little boy that no, he couldn’t share his candy canes with the horses.

Horses need a relatively simply diet consisting mostly of hay, grass and some fresh fruits and vegetables as a treat.

Let’s look at why horses shouldn’t eat candy canes, and what might work better as a treat for your horse.

Why can’t horses eat candy canes?

I will start by saying that a lot of the caution regarding feeding candy in general and candy canes in particular to your horses is that many horses suffer from a number of conditions affecting blood sugar and insulin levels.

Like diabetes in humans, this means that introducing sugar into their systems can be bad for a lot of obvious reasons.

However, not all horses suffer from said conditions, although they are very common.

Horses that do not have these conditions could safely eat small amounts of candy cane, but it’s really not a healthy treat and there a lot of much better options.

An entire candy cane, first of all, would be way too much sugar and corn syrup for any horse.

If you were going to feed a candy cane to a horse, you’d only want to give it a bite or two.

Horses have a reputation for loving the taste of mints and peppermint, so the better thing to do would be to get a low sugar, peppermint flavoured pack of candy.

Candy canes, especially whole candy canes, also present a choking hazard.

They’re very hard and sharp and if your horse swallows a piece too large when chewing it up it could easily choke.

So, the best advice with candy canes is to stay away.

But, there are a few varieties of candy cane, so are there any exceptions?

Can horses eat red and white candy canes?

Red and white candy canes are the most popular and iconic, and indeed the pack I bought was of red and white candy canes.

Unfortunately, they are not safe for horses.

Again, for some horses in very small amounts they would likely be okay, but it is better practice not to feed candy canes to your horses.

This applies to the red and white ones.

Can horses eat colored candy canes?

The only real difference between red and white candy canes and multi colored candy canes is the food coloring.

They may be different flavors, but the flavor isn’t the problem.

It’s the incredibly high concentration of syrup and sugar.

So, there isn’t really a variety of candy cane that will be safe for your horse.

So, what sort of candy can they eat?

What candy can horses eat?

As I said, horses do indeed have a reputation as lovers of mints.

This is certainly true of my horses.

If I have a pack in my pocket, good luck getting them to leave me alone for the rest of the day.

So, most small, low sugar mints are a great treat for your horses.

Polos, lifesavers, anything like that will be a great treat for your horse.

However, moderation is still extremely important.

They really shouldn’t eat more than a couple a day.

Anything more than that could quickly cause them problems and discomfort.

That said, mints actually have a number of helpful benefits.

They are naturally cooling and anti-inflammatory, and in small amounts can actually aid digestion.

This is part of why horses are so fond of candy canes.

In reality, if you’re looking for something as a regular treat, you should move away from candy and sugar-based foods.

Think about fresh fruits and vegetables.

Most are safe for your horse, and they make great, healthier treats without the empty calories.

Plus, fresh fruit has an excellent sugar content that will provide the necessary sugar in your horse’s diet.

Again, moderation is still important, but fruit is always a better option than candy.

So, simply put, candy canes are for people.

They’re not formulated for horses at all, and they contain way too much sugar to be safe for a horse.

Not to mention the choking hazard they present.

Horses might love peppermint, but there are lots of safer and healthier ways to get this and indeed plenty of other treats into your horse’s diet.

Indeed, there’s even specially formulated horse candy.

So, stay away from the candy canes for your horses.