Do Horses Eat Sugar Cubes?

Feeding sugar cubes to horses is one of those things that’s become almost mythologised in our culture.

It’s like the idea of rabbits eating carrots or mice eating cheese.

Everyone knows that horses love eating sugar cubes.

Or do they?

I have horses and I’ve only recently started thinking of giving them sugar cubes.

I usually preferred to feed them something like fresh fruit as a treat, but before introducing sugar cubes into their diet even in small amounts I wanted to be totally sure it was safe.

So, I decided to look into it.

Do horses eat sugar cubes?

It might be the oldest horse treat, and for good reason. Horses love sugar cubes and, when fed sparingly, they make a great treat in their diet. With something as sweet as sugar cube, which typically contains about 4 grams of sugar, moderation is really important. Overfeeding them would easy.

The number one thing to remember is moderation with anything like sugar cubes.

Your horses will love them, perhaps even a bit too much, and over treating your horses with sugar cubes could make them ill and have long term negative effects on their health.

Why do horses eat sugar cubes?

Well, horses do of course love sugar cubes, but the simpler way of looking at it is probably to think that a sugar cube is a very convenient snack for people to be able to carry around.

They’re small and packed with energy, so if you’ve got your horse out all day somewhere walking or on a job, having some sugar cubes on you is a great way to keep them fed.

The reason horses like sugar cubes is that they’re very sweet and they taste good.

For mammals in the wild, most of the sugar content in their diet would come from fruit; getting such concentrated sugar would be unheard of in the wild, so it’s unsurprising that horses are son fond of sugar cubes.

So, that said, sugar cubes do serve quite a specific function and this is why they’ve become associated with horses.

They’re convenient to carry around and full of nutrition.

That said, they’re probably not the best option for your horse as a regular treat, and there are a lot of much better options for getting treats into their diets.

We know that horses like sugar, now let’s look at whether they should really eat it.

Should horses eat sugar?

Just like in us, sugar is an important part of a horse’s diet but it still needs to be fed in serious moderation.

Occasionally slipping your horse a sugar cube is unlikely to cause any major problems—that is, unless your horse has a history of problems like IR, PSSM, or laminitis.

Even small amounts of sugar could cause a glucose spike which could be problematic for your horse.

Sugar can also cause tooth decay in horses as well.

Too much sugar can lead to diet-related metabolic disorders and even weight gain.

So, extreme moderation is always the most important thing.

You’ll hear this about pretty much any treat you feed your horse, but in sugar’s case it’s even more important.

Tiny amounts are fine, but anything more than that could be problematic.

How much sugar can a horse eat?

You should keep in mind that your horse will get sugar in other parts of its diet, or the equivalent nutrients in grass and hay.

Pure sugar is the problem, and you really shouldn’t give your horse sugar lumps every day.

One a day would likely be fine but could cause dental issues.

One sugar cube roughly equates to one teaspoon of sugar.

So, it’s not a small amount, and if you have a load with you it won’t seem like as much when your horse is just swallowing down cubes.

Imagine instead that you’re spooning a teaspoon full of sugar into its mouth every time!

So, with all that in mind, there are definitely better alternative treats for your horse that will be more nutritionally rich, rather than just empty calories in the sugar.

Treats for horses

One thing horses do often love that’s quite sugary is mints.

Again, it’s easy to overfeed them, so be careful, but unlike sugar cubes, mints help with digestion and even freshen up your horse’s breath.

Other than that, pieces of fruit are great; apple, banana, even strawberry are all great options that your horse will love.

They will love raisins and pitted dates.

All fruits have good sugar content while also providing fiber to help break down food in the gut.

They are also fond of nuts and seeds like sunflower seeds, peanuts, and indeed most nuts, all of which make a great treat alternative to sugar cubes.

Any of these options are more nutritionally rich than pure sugar cubes, then, while still providing a great treat.

Moderation is still important, though; that’s what we mean by a treat!

Just like you know not to eat a whole cake to yourself, then, know that you shouldn’t overfeed your horses with too much sugar.

They will love a little bit, but overdoing it will have negative effects in the short and long term.

Balance out the sugar cubes with other treats, and think of just pure sugar cubes as only a very occasional treat.

Despite their stature, they still shouldn’t eat too much.