What’s Your Favorite Snack to Share With Your Horse?
By: Brittany Bevis
Traditional treats for horses include produce, like apples and carrots, and sweets like sugar cubes and cookies. But show horses are a special variety of equine and often partake in more unusual snacking options, due to their time spent traveling to horse shows around the country.
We asked our Equine Chronicle readers their favorite snacks to share with their horses, and we received A LOT of feedback. Scroll below to see what they had to say!
Jody Love- “Misters Sundance Kid likes beer. A lot.”
Brooks Edwards- “Lucy loves to eat snow cones. Blue raspberry is her favorite.”
Carri Hansen- “Mavericks’ favorite snack was Cool Ranch Doritos. We even had a friend gift us this cute clay sculpture after he passed away.”
Mandy Hawkins Waddell- “My youth horse was crazy for banana nut muffins. He expected one daily. The day we lost him, he had one left and it was buried with him.”
Kim Bierwirth-Prato- “My daughter’s show horse ate her fried egg sandwich every time she sat it down to get ready for her classes. She would turn around it would be gone. She’d look at Sizzler and there was egg running down his face.”
Martha Schwabel- “Donuts. I had a gelding who would try anything. The only thing he didn’t like was spicy Polish sausage. He ate french fries, fried chicken, watermelon, grapes. But donuts were his favorite. He knew they came from the concession stand.”
Sheila Koch- “Oatmeal cream pies. He hears the wrapper and goes nuts for it.”
Loralea Allen- “My mare loves donut holes and Fruit Loops!”
Pam Ellis- “Mine has lost all his top front teeth, so we found his love of Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies! Nice and soft and apparently delicious.”
Sabine Lazo- “Watson loves a good popsicle!”
Ellen Mae- “Scarlett loves her mini muffins!”
Liz Gombash-Marks- “My old show mare drank Pepsi straight from the can. One time at a show, someone leaned over the fence with a Pepsi can, and she stopped for a drink. Thankfully the judge wasn’t looking!”
Tammie Bauer Harrison- “We had a mare that wouldn’t stop nickering if she saw you had a Pepsi, until you gave her some.”
Emma Wirtz- “Leena loves Twizzlers, frosted animal cookies, Dip N Dots, and oatmeal cream pies.”
Katy Traver-Woods- “Bob was more of a wino, but his big sister, Rosie, loved our hay man and his beer.”
Jordan Hanson- “When I was pregnant, one of our broodmares shared glazed doughnuts with me. She loved vanilla Oreos!”
Kelsey Boone- “My Reining mare loved Twizzlers!”
Kris McDonald Bonfer- “Biggin loved Tic Tacs. He’d roll em around until they were just right in his teeth and then crunch them.”
Ashley King Armeni- “My old show horse liked oranges.”
Shawna Jenkins Tadych- “Marshmallow Peeps will get you almost mauled if you go into the pasture with a box. Also, they like Sour Patch watermelons. The foals are usually eating dinner mints by a week or two old.”
Morgan Dee- “Holly loves licorice right out of Kenzie’s mouth.”
Jordan Melegari- “My mare LOVES cotton candy. She’s so funny to watch when she eats it since it disappears but she can still tell there’s something there.”
Lisa Zurn- “Butterscotch candies.”
Victoria Delarosa- “Bottled water… straight out of the bottle is her favorite.”
Karen E. Melroy-Oiler- “When we would stop at Bob Evans on the way home from shows, I would order him a fruit plate to go. He didn’t care for the yogurt though.”
Lynn Lewis- “My mare loves chocolate glazed donuts and another loves chocolate shakes.”
Alyssa Williams Salgado- “Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists, Oreo cookies, slushies, ice, french fries, and Coke.”
Tracy Lynne- “Runts, Skittles, and blue Powerade.”
Amy Mackie Smith- “Miss Goody Hoo Shoes (Benz) will do anything for cherry Twizzlers.”
Andrea LaManque- “I’ve shared Gatorade (red was the favorite), and cider donuts.”
Mary Himmel-Swinson- “We have one who loves jalapeño crackers. She’s a spicy girl!”
Rebecca Folk- “I share apples and Swedish fish with my mare.”
Robin Wyant- “Sour Patch Kids. Crackers loved them.”
Bonnie Sue- “Nature Valley Oat & Honey Granola Bars.”
Sandra Tavenner Reynolds- “My daughter’s POA loves Pop Tarts. He hears the wrapper and he’s there.”
Bonnie Laker Jeffries- “Blueberry loves Fig Newtons.”
Janel Marie- “Those big fig bar cookies you can get at Costco are perfect horse-sized pill pockets for Bute.”
Mary Lou Spaull- “Hall’s black currant cough drops, I taught him to bow for them. Every time he thought heard a wrapper, he was down on one knee.”
Kelly Atkinson- “My mare likes sweet tea and Cheetos.”
Miley Miller- “Mine likes red licorice, Cheetos, ice cubes, oats and honey granola bars, and banana ones.”
Katti Jo Leitner- “Mine liked watermelon pucker and sprite.”
Deb Herman- “Apples and carrots.”
Kenzie Riddle- “Diego loves blue Gatorade and snow cones.”
Amanda Sullivan- “Powdered Sugar Donuts.”
Janet Matthews- “Red licorice.”
Barb Dunning- “Mandarin orange Cuties.”
Kelsey Nobles- “Sonic slushies.”
Scott Peterson- “Beer.”
Christine Meng- “Poptart Bites! Zippos Cuervo, aka, Eddie LOVES them. And they make great pill pockets too.”
Angela Miller- “Mountain Dew, Coke, Beer.”
*The Equine Chronicle does not recommend nor endorse feeding horses any of the snack options listed within this article. Use your own discretion, as well as guidance from your veterinarian, when choosing what to feed your animal.
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