Most of us enjoy the soft, starchy texture of bread, and as horse owners, we often want to share the foods we like with our horses on occasion. You might be wondering whether bread is a safe treat to feed a horse, and if so, keep reading.
This article will explain whether feeding horses bread is okay, how much or how little bread you should offer a horse, and potential risks to take into consideration before feeding bread to a horse.
Can Horses Eat Bread?
Most bread products contain wheat, yeast, salt, water, and sometimes sugar, so there isn’t anything inherently toxic in the ingredients. However, bread doesn’t provide much in the way of nutrition, so it isn’t necessarily a healthy treat for a horse.
Horses require vitamins A, D, and E (among others) as well as minerals like copper, selenium, and zinc in their diets. Bread is deficient in all of these essential dietary components and won’t provide your horse with any real health benefits. Animals like horses need to maintain a very balanced, nutritionally-dense diet to keep him or her in peak condition.
On top of not being very nutritious, bread is high in calories and usually isn’t going to strike a horse as very pleasant in taste or texture.
Possible Risks
Aside from being a snack that provides horses with very little in the way of nutritional value, feeding a horse bread can increase the animal’s risk of developing the following conditions.
- Colic: The starchy, doughy composition of bread can lead to blockage in a horse’s digestive tract, which can also cause colic. It’s an unpleasant and even painful condition for horses, so if it can be avoided, it should be.
- Weight Gain: Feeding bread in excess can cause horses to gain weight. While a little bit of weight gain probably won’t hurt a horse, excessive weight gain can be detrimental to a horse’s health.
- Laminitis: This condition can develop due to an abundance of sugar and starch in a horse’s diet. It causes a horse’s soft tissues to become inflamed, which can lead to severe and unnecessary pain.
When is Bread OK for Horses?
An occasional piece of bread shouldn’t harm a horse, especially when the animal’s diet is complete and balanced. Bread might also provide growing or lactating horses with a bit of extra protein.
If you choose to feed your horse a piece of bread once in a while, monitor the animal for any signs of discomfort or inflammation. Should you notice a change in his or her overall well-being, it may be best to discontinue feeding the horse bread.
Final Thoughts on Feeding Bread to Horses
There is a plethora of healthy treat options to give a horse, and unfortunately, bread isn’t one of them. While a single piece of bread a week isn’t likely to have any unpleasant effects, it’s a good idea to choose a more nutritious treat if you’re concerned. An occasional apple, cucumber, or banana are healthier treats and your horse will likely enjoy them more than a piece of bread.
