Can Horses Eat Carrot- Nutritional Review

Horses are robust but susceptible pets in your backyard. Feeding these animals required more attention as some of their feeds can cause digestion difficulties, gas formation, and stomachaches. Most of the time, horse keepers have to pay greater attention to feed than the horse. 

Most horses love to eat fresh grasses, hay, or fruits. But can horses eat carrots like vegetables? Yes, of course. Carrots are not only good for humans, and it is also highly nutritious and healthier for horses. Most horses adore eating carrots because of their taste and texture.

But the horse keepers should know how to feed carrots to horses, how often horses can eat carrots, and horses swallow carrots whole. Also, at what age can a horse eat carrots? Because it has a hard texture and requires more chewing for better and faster digestion.

Let us figure out how to treat horses with carrots.

Carrots are Nutritious and Healthy for Horses

Healthy foods like carrots, hay cubes, and apples are good to start a meal of horse. 

“But why is carrot so special with horse feeds? And Can horses eat carrots?”

The answer is definitely “yes” because, Carrots have low sugar content, low energy content, high fiber content, and a considerable stock of vitamin A and vitamin C. This nutrient composition of carrots is essential for a horse’s health. 

A large number of carrots cannot be fed at one time even if it is rich in nutrient content. A mixture of forages and hay can add to the meal to enhance the nutrient content with fat, protein, and fiber. Adding carrots as slices become an additional nutrient supplement for your strong four-leg pets.

So, make sure to select healthy fruits and vegetables which are close to their regular diets. 

Let us see the primary nutrients in carrots related to horse feeds.

Carbohydrates

Carrots have a fair amount of carbohydrates that are suitable for horses. 4.7% of sugar and 1.4% of starch materials are available at raw carrots, which is the general form of carbohydrate. So, the total sugar content in carrots is near 6.1%. This amount of carbohydrate is beneficial for active animals like horses and carrots to fulfill the energy requirement of an average horse with a small portion of it.

Vitamin

Vitamin A and vitamin C are rich in fresh and raw carrots. That is why carrots have become one of the primary sources of Vitamins to horses as a less expensive method.

Both vitamins work as anti-inflammatory and antioxidants to the animals to protect these animals against diseases and pains. Horses’ immune system works well with the best nutrients and keeps these animals away from trouble.

Protein

Even though the carrot is not the primary protein source for horses, it has a countable amount of protein to consider. 0.93g of protein per 100g of raw carrot is the general value. If the horse needs more protein, you can use hay and a mixture of vegetables for protein intake because hay is a good source of fiber, fat, and protein to use. 

Fiber

2.8% of the fiber is available at carrot as ready to use. Fiber is one of the most preferred nutrients for horses. Generally, grasses give most of the fiber requirements of their herbivorous animals. But hay is not a fiber source. When your horse pet is sick or has a disease like laminitis, they suffer from fiber deficiency after a few days. At that time, Carrots, like fiber-rich vegetables, are beneficial for a meal. 

How to Feed Carrots to Horses – Different Ways of Feeding

When you feed carrots to horses, make sure to slice them and provide a small amount per time. Average-size horses can give only one or two carrots, more than enough for a time. 

There are a few ways to feed a carrot to horses without messing up their digestive system. Chopped, grated, baked, frozen and smashed, or mixed with other vegetables are a few commonly used methods with carrot feeding. 

Whatever the method used to process the carrot into the portion, it should be a small amount. Even the most nutritional food in large quantities give severe gastrointestinal issues, which are the most painful problem for horses.

Summary – Treat Your Horse with Carrots.

Here are frequently asked questions related to carrot feeding for horses. Take this as a summary of the above article.

• Can horses eat carrots whole?

Horses love to eat carrots because of their taste and color. But horse keepers should have to limit the amount of the carrot portion per time. Also, the carrot diet should be a small piece. The large size of hard textured carrots can instantly block these animals’ intestinal tract. Make sure to chop or cut into pieces before treating your animal.

• Can horses eat too many carrots?

The answer is so simple, and it is “no.” Even horses love to eat a lot; you can’t let them eat many single feed types. There should be a balanced diet for each of the age-grouped horses. A few carrot slices (1-2 large carrot slices) are just enough for an average-grown horse. 

• Can horses eat baby carrots?

Baby carrots are the best option to feed carrots as nutritional food without messing with your horse. Just use a bag of baby carrots other than be busy slicing your carrots into equally small pieces. You can give the same amount of nutrients as baby carrots. So make it easy with you and your horses.

 

• Can horses eat the green top of carrots?

Yes, it can feed your horse because it is not poisonous or toxic to your animal or you. These green tops have more fiber due to them being just next to green leaves. The pesticide or insecticides are probably available at the leafy part of carrots, which can cause colic problems and even more severe damage to your pet. Just ensure that your feed is secure with pesticides and other harmful chemicals as well your horse does not overeat these green carrot tops or leaves.

• At what age can horses eat carrots?

Age is not a problem to feed your foal if you already started to feed wild foods other than hay. The amount of carrots per average-size horse is higher than the foal. Always the amount of feed is needed to be 1.5-2% of their body weight. It averagely says that 1.5 -2 kg of feed for a 100kg weighted horse. That is a rule of thumb for feeding horses. So make carrots as a portion of their meal. And not the whole meal.

• Can Baby Horses Eat Carrots?

Yes, they do, and make sure to decrease the size of the carrot piece if you are trying to introduce carrots to your foal. First, try with other feeds by submitting carrots at the palm and letting them eat. Make much attention if your foal chews it well before giving another slice also.

• Can miniature horses eat carrots?

Miniature horses do not need special attention with carrot feeding because they are much safer to use than other preferable vegetables. Carrots can be a healthier feed for miniature horses. It is better to take advice and guidance from your veterinarian before adding carrots to your miniature horse’s meal.

• Can laminitis horses eat horses?

You may have thought your laminitis horse needs only low-sugar, low-quality forage as a treatment for weight loss. But the truth is these horses need a balanced diet with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in minor dosages. Do hay or dried grasses give enough nutrients to these sick horses when they are recovering or under the control of the problem? Some researchers have compared different fruits and vegetables like apples, plums, grapes, and carrots as nutritious sources of feed for laminitis horses. Among all of the feeds, carrots have the highest anti-inflammation ratio than other feeds. 

• Can all horses eat carrots?

All horse kids can eat horses only if they are not too old to chew these hard vegetable carrot slices. But if your horse has some intestinal difficulty, consult your veterinarian before taking the risk. They can inspect your pet and give the best advice and guidance to follow for them with carrot feeding as a high-nutrition source feed.