Can Horses Eat Apples?

If you’ve ever been at a loss for what to do with a couple of mushy apples, you might have wondered, can horses eat them? And equally importantly: should horses eat apples?

Before feeding apples to a horse, it’s important to understand which kinds of apples horses can safely eat and how many apples horses can eat in a day without getting sick.

Can Horses Eat Apples?

Yes, most horses can safely eat apples as an occasional snack. According to Dr. Glennon Mays of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, “An apple cut into pieces makes a wonderful treat.”

All colors and varieties of apples can be fed to horses, including crab apples and fresh windfall apples.

Hedge apples, however, which are actually immature fruit from Osage orange trees, should be fed only minimally if they’re common in your area. While hedge apples are not known to be toxic, horses tend to eat them off the ground and they can cause a choking hazard. During certain times of the year, these fruits are also more prone to mold growth.

In general, apples contain beneficial bacteria associated with health benefits in humans. The effects of these microorganisms on horses have not yet been studied.

Many horses love the taste of apples, making apple pieces a good choice for behavioral enrichment programs that encourage natural foraging behaviors. Some horse owners even give prescribed medications to their horses by concealing a pill inside an apple slice.

Can Horses Eat Apple Cores?

Horses should not eat apple cores. Due to their fibrous texture, cores are tough to swallow and can pose a choking hazard, especially for foals and senior horses. So it’s safest to save apple cores for the compost bin.

Can Horses Eat Apple Seeds?

Apple seeds contain a poisonous cyanide-based compound, but in very small amounts. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it would take about a cup of apple seeds to harm a horse. Most people aren’t feeding their horses anywhere near that many apples at a time, so there’s no need to call the vet if your horse eats the seeds of a few apples.

Can Horses Eat Whole Apples?

Many horse owners allow their horses to eat whole apples, but veterinarians advise against this practice. Some horses get so excited about eating whole apples, they try to swallow them without chewing. This can cause the apple to become stuck in the horse’s esophagus, requiring emergency veterinary care to remove the obstruction.

Choking can also increase the risk of developing aspiration pneumonia. Sliced apples are the safest option for horses.

Can Horses Be Allergic to Apples?

Any food or treat, including apples, has the potential to trigger an allergic response in individual horses. If your horse has symptoms of allergies, such as hives and skin irritation, have them examined by a veterinarian. Don’t administer antihistamines or any other allergy treatment without speaking to your vet.

Food allergies in horses are generally diagnosed by putting horses on a strict elimination diet that starts with just one food item and gradually adds others back in over time. Restricting a horse’s diet can cause colic or nutritional deficiencies, so it’s important to work closely with a veterinarian or equine nutritionist.

How Many Apples Can a Horse Eat a Day?

Apples are treats—not a core part of a balanced diet for horses. Treats should make up only a small portion of any horse’s daily calorie intake. That means most horses should eat no more than one or two average-sized apples per day, regardless of the horse’s workload. Eating too many apples can upset a horse’s delicate digestive system.

Consult your veterinarian before feeding apples or any other treat to overweight horses. Some horses with metabolic disorders such as Cushing’s disease should eat a strict low-sugar diet.

How To Safely Feed Your Horse Apples

Apples are a safe snack for most horses when a few simple precautions are taken:

• Cut apples into pieces and discard the cores when feeding apples to horses.

• Ask first before feeding apples or any other treat to a horse you don’t own. If the owner isn’t around to give you permission, don’t feed the horse.

• Avoid apple products with added sugars and artificial flavors.

• Check for mold and rotten spots before feeding apples to horses. Bruised or mushy apples are fine, but if you see mold or decay, throw the apple away.

• Offer windfall apples to horses only when fresh. Apples left on the ground for even a few days may be rotting, infested with bugs, or fermented.

New tastes, smells, and foraging options are mentally stimulating to horses. Rather than just handing your horse a few chopped apple pieces, try serving apples to your horse in one of these fun ways:

• Scatter no-sugar-added dried apples on an equine snuffle mat to simulate natural foraging behaviors.

• After exercise, toss one or two cut-up apples into a bucket of fresh water, giving your horse a fun reward for hydrating.

• Hide apple slices around your horse’s paddock and encourage your horse to search for them. (Don’t place cut apple pieces on the ground—eating dirt isn’t ideal.) Also, make sure there are no exposed wires, bucket hooks, or wood splinters your horse could potentially injure themselves on.

• Place several rubber feed pans in an arena and put slices of apple in just one or two of them. Cover each pan with another pan or a traffic cone. Safely turn your horse loose to find the hidden apple pieces.

• Use a syringe full of unsweetened applesauce to teach your horse to accept syringed medications and electrolytes.

• Top less palatable supplements like ground flaxseed with a few pieces of apple.

• Teach your horse to choose either an apple piece or another favorite treat by touching one of two differently shaped objects. For example, a small traffic cone could be used to request carrots, while a soccer ball might be used to request apples.

For your own safety, feed apples to horses from a bucket or feed pan rather than by hand until you have trained them to take hand-fed treats gently.

If your horse is especially anxious or protective about food, keep a fence or stall door between the horse and you when feeding treats, and implement a training program to reduce this behavior.

What Other Fruits Can Horses Eat?

Horses enjoy a wide variety of fruits. In fact, one study found that horses preferred cherries over carrots, apples, and oats. Other studies saw different taste preferences such as banana or no clear pattern at all. Different horses may favor different fruit treats. Experiment, in moderation, with these horse-friendly fruits:

• Bananas

• Watermelon

• Cherries

• Berries

• Mango (many horses prefer it dried)

• Stone fruits like apricots, peaches, and nectarines (remove the pits)

• Dates (unsweetened, no pits)

• Cantaloupe

Even if your horse doesn’t like every fruit you offer, they’ll enjoy sampling new tastes and smells. Maybe you’ll even find a new favorite snack for the two of you to share!