Can Horses Eat Ice Cream?

It was a lovely hot Saturday over the weekend, so the family and I took a picnic out to our field and enjoyed a great meal with our horses nearby.

They’re normally very good at not bothering us for food, but on this occasion, one of my horses was very interested in my daughter’s ice cream.

I told her not to let him have any as I wasn’t sure it would be good for him, and we gave him some fruit instead which seemed to satisfy him.

My daughter was very keen to share the ice cream, though, so I decided to look into if it was safe.

So, can horses eat ice cream?

No, horses should not eat ice cream. Horses are lactose intolerant in adulthood, and dairy products in ice cream could cause serious pain, discomfort and digestive problems like diarrhea. A very small amount likely would not be a problem, but there’s much better treat alternatives.

Ice cream is a human food, then, and not at all safe for horses.

If you want to feed your horse a treat, there are all sorts of great choices in the form of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Ice cream is a dairy product, and you shouldn’t feed your horse dairy ever.

Why can’t horses eat ice cream?

The number one problem in ice cream is lactose.

This is present in all dairy products, and should never be eaten by horses.

Horses lack the ability to digest lactose, so when they consume a dairy product, it will sit undigested in their gut, causing pain, discomfort and even diarrhea.

They may enjoy the initial taste, but they will come to regret their decision later.

Furthermore, the horse may be quite surprised by the temperature.

An ice cold snack may not be the best idea for a horse, when most of what they eat is plants, grass and vegetables.

A horse’s diet should really be very simple.

Most of it will be made up of hay, grass and forage.

They’ll spend most of their time grazing in their pasture, and their diet needs a great deal of fiber.

This fiber is essential to healthy digestion, and there is none in ice cream.

As a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea simply not to feed your horse anything that doesn’t contain fiber.

Other great treat alternatives are fresh vegetables like carrots, fennel or cucumber, and fresh fruit, like apples and pears.

These are great options that your horse will love, healthy, rich in fiber and other essential nutrients.

Even were it not for the lactose, an ice cream is essentially still just empty of real nutrition.

But what is lactose, anyway?

What is lactose?

Lactose is a type of sugar present in any milk produced by animals.

In virtually all animals, the ability to break this sugar down is lost after infancy.

Mammals at a young age are fed from their mother’s milk, and in the early stages of development they have a special enzyme to break the lactose down.

Once the animal is eating solid foods, that enzyme disappears.

We are the only species that drinks milk into adulthood, let alone the milk of another species.

Horses are no different, here, and this is why they shouldn’t eat any dairy product, be it ice cream, cheese or cream.

So, what about other kinds of iced treats?

Can horses eat popsicles?

Many popsicles do not contain dairy, but that doesn’t necessarily make them safe.

They’re still very high in sugar and other processed ingredients, which are generally not good for a horse.

A lick or two may not be a problem, but the thing to remember is that horses won’t know popsicle etiquette; they’ll just eat the whole thing!

Again, this presents issues with the temperature.

They may be surprised and it may even cause their pain in their mouth and stomach.

Popsicles are certainly safer than ice cream, but there is still really no reason to let your horse eat popsicles.

Fresh fruit and veg should really always be your go to as treats for them, and they will much prefer them, both when eating and when digesting.

What about ice cream cones, then?

Are they safe?

Can horses eat ice cream cones?

Ice cream cones are a much different story, and I’ve heard more than one occasion on which a horse stole an entire ice cream out of someone’s hand when they looked away.

The cones aren’t likely to be much of a problem, but, again, there’s still no reason to give them to your horse deliberately.

They are still highly processed and filled with a lot of sugar, so they are not a good treat for your horse.

So, there’s really no reason to be sharing ice cream with your horse.

It may seem like they want it, and they may even appear to enjoy it when they eat it.

However, it is bad for them for a whole host of reasons, and could cause any number of digestive troubles.