Can Horses Eat Cheese?
One of my favourite foods to snack on is cheese.
My local cheese shop has the most incredible selection of cheese you can imagine, and I could easily spend hours deciding which ones to buy.
It turns out, I’m not alone in this respect.
Cheese is one of the world’s most popular foods and the global cheese industry is said to be worth around 72 billion dollars!
This statistic got me thinking, can horses eat cheese?
The answer to this question is no. Horses can’t eat cheese because they are lactose intolerant. Lactose is the main sugar found in dairy products, and an intolerance to it means they are unable to digest this sugar properly and can experience gastrointestinal discomfort when they eat or drink any dairy products.
In this article, we will take a look at some other questions you might have about horses and their relationship with cheese, such as: is cheese toxic to horses, can young horses eat cheese, can horses eat ricotta, can horses eat processed cheese, and can horses eat vegan cheese.
Let’s not waste any time and get right into it!
What is cheese?
Before we answer some questions about horses, let’s quickly address exactly what cheese is.
Cheese is one of the world’s most popular dairy products.
It can be made from the milk of various animals including, cows, goats, sheep and buffalos and there are around 1,000 different types of cheese that exist!
Cheese is a staple household ingredient for many of us, and for good reason!
This delicious food is packed full of calcium, protein, and fat – which makes it a healthy food if eaten in moderation and as part of a balanced diet.
Based on these health benefits, you might be wondering: can horses eat cheese too?
Is cheese toxic to horses?
While cheese can be eaten by humans as part of a healthy diet, unfortunately, cheese can be considered toxic to horses and it should be avoided.
All cheese, and dairy products for that matter, contain a sugar compound called lactose, which horses are unable to digest properly as they are lactose intolerant.
When a horse ingests any dairy products, they can develop some severe and painful symptoms such as gastrointestinal discomfort, severe bloating, increased gas, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance usually appear within 30 minutes to 2 hours of consuming dairy products and if your horse has consumed any dairy products containing lactose, it is best to seek help from a veterinary professional as the symptoms can be very harmful to horses.
It should also be noted that if a horse only experiences mild symptoms of lactose intolerance and continues to eat dairy products, it can be deadly in the long run, so it is best to avoid this food altogether.
Can young horses eat cheese?
One surprising fact about horses and their relationship to cheese is that young horses (under the age of 3) can actually handle dairy products a bit better than adult horses.
The reason for this is that young horses do not have fully developed digestive systems and so they do not actually digest the lactose in the same way that a fully grown horse would.
This means that cheese is less harmful to horses under the age of 3.
Yet, just because it is less harmful to younger horses does not mean that they should be fed cheese as it can still be harmful with continued exposure to it.
Can horses eat ricotta?
Ricotta is a type of cheese that has a much lower lactose content than other cheeses.
So, you might be wondering if horses can eat ricotta?
The answer is still no, horses cannot eat ricotta or any low-lactose cheeses (e.g., cottage cheese) either.
Even a tiny amount of lactose can be extremely harmful to horses and can cause gastrointestinal problems for them in the long run.
As mentioned, it is best to avoid cheese altogether when it comes to feeding horses.
Can horses eat processed cheese?
Processed cheese is usually lower in lactose content and contains ingredients aimed at preserving the cheese and the flavour.
This might have made you wonder if it is better or less harmful to horses because of the other ingredients in it.
The answer is no, processed cheeses are in fact significantly more harmful to horses because they contain ingredients such as emulsifiers, starch, sucrose, and they often have a very high salt content.
Although salt is healthy for horses in moderation, too much salt can be toxic to them – causing complications such as frequent urination.
Many processed cheeses contain high amounts of salt and it is easy to misjudge the amount of salt in them.
Sucrose is also another deadly sugar to horses that is a main ingredient in processed cheese.
Several studies have revealed that sucrose raises blood sugar levels to the point that it can even rupture the blood cells.
So, it is advised that processed cheese is avoided at all costs when it comes to feeding horses!
Can horses eat vegan cheese?
Vegan cheese is entirely plant-based cheese and contains no dairy.
However, it is similar to processed cheese in that it contains preservatives and other chemicals that can be harmful to horses.
So vegan cheese is also best avoided by horses!
In conclusion, horses should avoid cheese of any kind.
The main reason that cheese should be avoided is because horses are lactose intolerant and can develop painful gastrointestinal issues if they eat dairy.
Even a tiny amount of lactose can be harmful, so even low-lactose cheeses like ricotta and cottage cheese are not recommended.
Young horses, under 3, can handle cheese better than older horses but it is still harmful in the long run.
It was also found that processed cheese and vegan cheese are potentially more harmful to horses due to the high salt quantities and preservatives in them.
Overall, steer clear of cheese when it comes to feeding your horse!