Can Horses Eat Eggs? 

I was driving past a farm a few days ago near my home, and the horses were outside with the chickens on the farm.

I assume the farmers keep chickens so they can have eggs for the family.

Horses are natural grazers and will generally eat whatever they have access to.

Humans provide a balanced and nutritious diet for a horse.

I have only ever seen horses eating hay, but with all the chickens on that farm, it got me thinking, can horses eat eggs?

The answer is yes, but pay attention to clues from your horse that the eggs are making them ill. You see, horses are herbivores and natural grazers and are not built to digest meat but are known to eat abandoned bird eggs in the wild. 

Does this mean you should or shouldn’t feed your horse eggs?

Some people say it’s a big no-no, but some people say it’s a great way to add protein to their diet.

The only way to find out whether your horse can eat eggs is to try it.

Do horses eat eggs in the wild?

As it turns out, horses will naturally eat eggs they find while grazing.

Since horses are grazing animals, they will inevitably come across items they aren’t meant to eat.

For the most part, horses are selective about the non-grass items they will eat when grazing and horses are known to enjoy eating eggs from time to time.

Can horses eat raw eggs?

Eggs have been a staple item in the diet of racehorses for a long time, traditionally given raw.

The concern with feeding horses raw eggs lies in the possibility of the horse getting sick from a salmonella infection.

Getting your horse to eat a raw egg may be a challenge, but you can mix the eggs in with their feed if you really want them to eat raw eggs.

However, doing this increases the risk of giving your horse salmonella because bacteria grow when left out at room temperature.

The more bacteria your horse eats, the more likely it is they will get sick.

None of us wants to get our horse sick, so many horse owners will feed their horses the freshest eggs possible.

Can horses eat cooked eggs?

Horses can eat cooked eggs, and many horse owners prefer to boil the eggs to kill the salmonella.

The risks of eating a raw egg are the same as eating cooked eggs because horses are herbivores and shouldn’t be fed meat.

Whether your feed your horse’s eggs or not should be up to careful consideration by the owner.

Each owner knows their horse intimately and will be able to tell when or if their horse tolerates the eggs well, whether raw or cooked.

Always pay attention to your horse, and if they appear to get sick from eggs, don’t feed them eggs.

How many eggs can a horse eat?

There doesn’t seem to be any real consensus about how many eggs are safe for your horse to eat.

It is recommended not to feed them to your horse as a regular part of their diet.

The horse’s digestive system is delicate, and you should give them eggs for only a few days and then stop.

This way, the horse can get the benefits of the eggs and giving the horse’s digestive system a break from the difficulty of breaking down the proteins in the eggs.

Owners who feed eggs to their horses recommend half a dozen eggs a day for 3 to 4 days, but this isn’t backed up by equine experts.

It seems to be the recommendation of owners based on their experience.

You may have to experiment with your own horse to see what the perfect number of eggs is for them.

Will eggs make a horse sick?

Eggs are a natural part of the wild diet of a horse.

However, even though horses are herbivores with digestive systems designed to process plants and not animal protein.

Horses in the wild don’t eat eggs every day, only occasionally.

However, because horses have eaten wild eggs, they have evolved to be able to eat the animal protein contained in eggs.

Raw eggs may make a horse sick, but it is most likely a result of eating eggs contaminated with salmonella.

For this reason, some owners prefer to feed their horses eggs that are raw but very fresh.

Other owners prefer to boil the eggs and feed cooked eggs to their horses to try and minimize the risk of getting sick from salmonella.

If you want to feed your horse eggs but are worried about it getting sick, you can try the tips mentioned above.

Always pay close attention to signs from your horse that they are getting sick and call your local equine veterinarian for help if they do get sick.

Finally, eggs contain an anti-vitamin substance called Avidin that neutralizes B vitamins.

In eggs, this protects the baby chick from getting sick from bacteria while it grows inside the egg.

However, because horses have immune systems and need the B vitamins they get in their diets, you shouldn’t feed eggs to horses daily.

Are eggs good for horses?

Some owners praise the benefits of eggs highly.

The protein in the eggs helps support muscle growth and adds dense calories for active horses.

This means that if you’re training a racehorse, you might be able to get a slight extra edge that you might not get without the eggs.

Secondly, eggs are touted to make a horse’s coat extra shiny.

Flaxseed is another option for a shiny coat that doesn’t come with the risk of salmonella.

Finally, eggshells are a great source of calcium.

Calcium helps build strong bones, among its other benefits.

If you want to feed your horse eggs, it probably won’t harm them and may potentially benefit them.

However, it’s not a dietary requirement by any means, so you can make a choice for yourself and your unique horse!