homemade horse treat recipes

[bunnycutie]

 hi everyone! i have a ummmmm hobby of creating yummy treats for my family’s horses . it passes time and is fun.and i was wondering if anyone would want some of my fav recipes? these are easy and fun to make!

 

 

lightning’s offical horse cookies:

2 cups flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup bran ( or another cup of oatmeal)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon butter (opt.)

dash of corn oil

mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. i use my hands to place them. flatten into a small pancake type shape. bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes. keep an eye on them to make sure they arent burning. pole them with a tooth pick and when it comes out clean they should be done.

 

dancer’s light raisin bran mash:

4 cups bran

3 cups boiling water

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup brown sugar

 

mix all these ingriedients with boiling water. mix it all up very well. cover and let steep for 10 minutes or until cool enough to feed. this is best fed when its really cold out. its warming and yummmy!

 

classic mash:

6 cups bran

3 1/2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup molassess

1/4 corn/canola oil

1 carrot, sliced

1 apple, sliced

 

 

mix all the ingredients up really well. this mash is a sure to please dish when its cold and snowy out, or rainy. cover and \ let steep for 5-10 minutes, or until cool enough to feed. 

 

 

spring salad:

 

3 leaves of lettuce, torn

3 slices of banana

confectioners sugar

5 carrots

molassess

raisins

 

in a feed bucket, lay the lettuce leaves. then put 5 sliced carrots on top of the lettuce. top with 3 slices of banana and sprinkle with raisins and sugar. serve to your horse!

 

 

lo-calorie summer mousse:

2 cups cool whip or reddi whip

1 carrot, grated

1 apple, grated

 

 

mix all these together. this is a great low calorie treat that sugar-loving horses are sure to love!

 

 

 christmas caserole bars:

1 cup bran

2 cups apple juice

1 red apple, sliced

1 green apple, sliced

1 cup regular feed

1 cup molassess

oatmeal

boil the apple juice and add bran. the bran will soak up the apple flavor. lay the apple juice bran in the bottom of a greased pa. this should be a thick-ish layer. then, mix your horses feed with the molassess and spread over the bran. cover that with the sliced apples and dust with oatmeal. bake 15-25 minutes at 350. this dish changes for baking time, depending on how you make it, and its different for everyone, so keep a close watch on it!!!! when cooled, cut into bars and serve!

 

 

please keep treats as a small portion of the diet! though horses are bigger than bunnies doesnt mean they can have a lot more treats. keep bran mashes to once a week or you horse may lessen its ability to absorb calcium. always use common sense in the amounts and what you give your horse!!! most of all, enjoy!

 

 

 

~BC

[Barbie]

Oooo! Those recipes sound like fun to make and to feed! Too bad I don’t have horses any more =(

[KytKattin]

My mom has a mini that pretty much lives for food (yes, I know, everyone thinks their horses live for food, but I have had other horses and food was no where near as important to them as it is for this little guy). Basically, he is a “My Little Pony” that makes cute noises if he thinks you have food. I am sure he would love these!

[bunnycutie]

oh we have a mini horse too! we love her!!! and she is alot crazier for food than the other ones LOL

[KatnipCrzy]

I have been making homemade horse treats for the quarter horse I lease,  and since he is older I tried to read up on nutrition to figure out what was some the the healther ingredients to add- ground flax seed meal is supposes to be good, I have been using soybean oil, rice bran, etc.  I roll the dough into a ball, flatten it between my palms, score it in 4 pieces (ao they are breakable) with a paring kfnife and place on a sheet pan sprayed with Pam- so they do not stick.  I usually leave them in the oven after they are done baking to remove more of the moisture and to prevent them from spoiling- although at this time of the year- if they are in my car or in the barn it would be like being in the fridge- or maybe even colder.

I found this link online to he helpful to figure out how to make HEALTHY treats since Bo is older and needs to keep his weight up.

http://infohorse.com/healthytreats.asp

I try to use a natural sweetener such as canned pear, grated carrots, etc instead of adding additional sugar sources- the horses still like the treats regarless  and I prefer to use less refined ingredients.  Although for the holidays I am breaking down and making hime some treats with a crushed candy cane as he loves peppermint- but i don’t plan on adding any other sweeteners- just the other healthy ingredients and getting more rice bran and adding brewers yeast /nutritional yeast.

I think making treats gives you much more control over nutrition than purchasing treats!

I use oil and I know that can be a healthy addition for some horses- but I was not aware they were allowed to have dairy/butter.

Bo’s Healthy Horse Treat Recipe– (developed just for my sweet old guy!)

 

2 cups of canned pears (mashed)

1 cup of ground flax seed meal

2 Tablespoons of Soybean Oil (could use vegetable/corn or canola oil)

2 cups of uncooked oats (quick or old fashioned oatmeal)

And then I added about another 2 cups total of rice bran/oat bran/wheat germ/whole wheat flour to get the dough to a thick, dense, slightly sticky mass that I could pull pieces off of, hand roll, flatten between my palms and then score with a paring knife to allow for easier breaking after baking. 

  You really can’t mess up the recipe- if the dough is too wet- add another dry ingredient- if it too dry- add a bit of water. 

  I found it easier to dip my fingers in a dish of water now and then as I was working with the dough to help it stay together, roll and flatten.

  Place on greased cookie sheet (sprayed with cooking spray)- otherwise they will stick to the cookie sheet.  I baked them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes- but then I shut the oven off and just left them in the oven to remove more of the moisture content.  I would occassionally shift the treats around to make sure they were not sticking to the pan.  I have even left homemade dog biscuits using this method in the oven overnight to cool and remove moisture.  I left these horse cookies in the oven for at least 2-3 hours probably.  If I make horse cookies in the summer I would probably leave them in the oven overnight and let the residual heat dry them into a harder treat less likely to mold or spoil.

 

And this recipe is very versatile- you could use applesauce, apples, carrots, or whatever else you like to flavor them instead of pears.  I just happen to still have about half a dozen quart jars of homemade canned pears that my Mom had canned and gave to me.  I used soybean oil in the recipe (it is something we have in our kitchen anyway- it is made locally- Zoye soybean oil)- and thought since Cocasoya horse supplement uses soybean oil in their product that it might be healthier than vegetable oil.  I opted to use old fashioned oats this batch- though if you want to make a dough you can roll and cut this would not be a good choice as it interferes with the cookie cutter cutting clean lines thru the dough. 

 

[bunnycutie]

thanks for the recipe catnip!!! i love it and i think i will make it soon!i know molassess it sugary, but a small amount goes a long way. maybe in you cookies you could add 1/4 cup? im just saying this becuase molassess adds weight— i use it in my recipes for our older horse. how old is bo? its great that you are getitng involved with horses! they are so much fun to be with! also for weight, we give dancer(our older horse)1/2 cup of corn oil on his feed at each meal. this has to be introduced slowly. start with 1/4 cup each meal for the 1st week and slowly get up to 1/2 cup. this is really good for weight gain&coat shine. btw do you have any pics of bo? i’d love to see him as far as the recipe goes, i love it. i think i will be using apple sauce and adding some molassess, just to suit my horses. thanks again!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Those all sound yummy! Poor Winnie (my Morgan) can’t have anything with sugar or carbs because she has EMS (equine metabolic syndrome- sort of like diabetes) and all she can have is diabetic mints. I feel so bad because she used to be super spoiled and got lots of different treats. I wish she understood that it’s for her own good

[bunnycutie]

i worry about my horses gettin EMS sometimes. so i keep treat sunday as treat day. one day a week is enough, trust me! this is when the each get a bran mash, or a homemade horse cookie, cool whip treat etc. they are plenty happy with a carrot during the week while they wait for treat day!!!

littlepuffytail— do you mean sugar free mints? i have heard of people feeding sugar free shortbread cookies to diabetic horses. we had a pony with pre- EMS and we fed him sugar free life savers. he really liked them

[KatnipCrzy]

  I used the following recipe the first time I made him treats- but used canned pears since I have so many of them.   But I wondered what I could do to make the treats healthier and more nutritious.  Bo is 24 year old grulla quarter horse- and his is on senior feed with some additional joint supplements and weight supplements added (I do not feed him- but I know that is part of his feed routine).  He could stand to gain more weight  AND has gained more weight since I have started lessons, grooming a couple times a week and then started the half lease- he is happier now that he has “a person” and  the owner claims she had not changed his feed routine at all.  2 weeks or so ago when I hurt my back and could not go to the barn for about a week or so- Bo would not finish all of his usual grain in the am and pm and seemed upset and irritated- they could not figure out why at first until they realized it had been so long since he had seen me.  I still cannot ride yet til the neurologist gives the OK- but I will spend over an hour grooming him, loving on him, talking to him and giving him a couple treats- and he is the one horse in the barn that allowed a hay bag when tied to be groomed. 

  He is a special old horse that literally dozens of people have said “is that Bo? (Bozo)- I Iearned to ride on him!”  He was at another farm until about 18 months ago when the owners lost their farm and made arrangements with my current barn that he will live out the rest of his life there.  I have only ridden for a few months, am 35 years old, so I am not looking for a horse than can do more than walk, trot and occ canter (though have not asked for a canter yet- but he did for me once until I slowed him back down).  He has wonderful manners, a heart of gold and we have really bonded and I am so relieved that he will never leave the farm he is at- even when he only can be a pasture pet- Bo will live there, they all love him that much.

Regular horse cookies are not so expensive- but some of the ones that claim added health benefits are!  So I decided to try to research and since I live in a large area we have a few natural/organic stores in our area- and try to find some of these “healthier” ingredients and make my own cookies!  I don’t have anything against molasses- I used some in the first batch and would use some again.  But I think the pears that my Mom had canned (even though I drained the liquid) were still pretty sweet.

I have even considered going to the feed store- like bunnycutie suggested and buying a high quality feed to use in the cookies themselves- either soak them and try to work them into the dough- or smash them with a meat mallet in a baggie- or try the food processor with them completely dry or having been soaked with some liquid for a bit.

And I already give him a peppermint or 2 every time I am there I am- which is about 3-4 times a week.  And I usually bring a small apple (the smaller apples out of the 5 lb bags).

If anyone else has any other suggestions on what would be a good ingredient please let me know- I can’t change his grain and supplements (since he is not mine) but I can make healthy treats for him.

Carrot/Apple Treats

Ingredients:
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated apple
2 tablespoons corn oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup flour

Instructions:
Combine first 4 ingredients. Blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients. Cut into shapes. Place on baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes or till lightly browned.

 

[bunnycutie]

catnip—- you can add soybean meal, becuase this is also useful for weight gain. bo sounds great and it is really nice that so many people could learn to ride on him. he sounds so experienced and kind. smashing the feed in a baggie with a meat mallet is a great idea!!!!!! i never thought of that!!!! i always tried to smash the feed i was using with a rolling pin, but it never worked out. i will need to try the meat mallet. i think it should work very well. making homemade cookies is fun!!!!! and i think homemade ones are healthier than the store bought ones that claim to be healthy. and those apple carrot treats sound really good and i am excited about making them for our horses. they are low sugar and tasty. thanks so much katnip

~BC

 

 

PS— the apple carrot treats just came out of the oven they look super delish!

[LittlePuffyTail]

bunnycutie- yes I give her mints that are made with a sugar alternative like Splenda. She likes the scotch mints the best.

[bunnycutie]

thats better than nothing. actually, your horse is very lucky because mints are my horses favorite treat. i think she wishes that was her main treat LOL

[KatnipCrzy]

I finally got around to making his “holiday cookies” I smashed up a 4 oz candy candy and added that to all the other healthy ingredients like the ground flax meal,  bran meal,  old fashioned oats, barley flakes, and water- there was not enough “binder” ingredients to hold the dough together so I had to add a teaspoon of honey.  They turned out OK- Bo likes them, Dolly the goat likes them- but I am not happy with the outcome- the smashed candy candy was also on the bottom on the cookie so it “caramelized” like a creme brule would- looks burned- but is just browned sugar.  I still let them dry out some- but they are a little sticky.  So next “Holiday” peppermint horse cookies will have either peppermint oil or extract to prevent to carmelization on the bottom and a bag full of slightly sticky cookies!- no more candy canes in the cookies!

I offered him a banana to see if that could be our next recipe- I ate half in front of him offered it- and he tossed his head, snorted at it and had not interest.  So I will skip the bananas and use things I know that he  LIKES instead of just sneaking them in.  The horse next to him curled her lips way, way back was was disgusted by the smell of the banana.

[bunnycutie]

strange they didnt like banana…ours do. maddie didnt like heres at first but after a few tries she decided to nibble it and… viola! a new treat!

[Author]

Messages