What Can Horses Eat? Safe Foods, Toxic Foods and Healthy Treats

Horses can safely eat small amounts of many fruits and vegetables, including carrot, apple (no core or seeds), banana, watermelon, pumpkin and celery, alongside their forage-based diet of hay and pasture. Treats should only ever be a small extra, usually just one or two pieces a day. Never feed avocado, chocolate, onion, garlic, potato, tomato or mouldy food, which are toxic to horses.

If you have ever held a carrot over a paddock fence and watched a horse practically vibrate with excitement, you already know how much treats matter to them. What is less obvious is which foods are genuinely good for a horse, which are fine as an occasional snack, and which can make a horse seriously ill. The gap between "my horse loves it" and "it is safe for my horse" is exactly where a lot of well-meaning owners come unstuck.

We make horse treats for a living here on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, so we spend a lot of our week thinking about that gap. This guide is the honest version of what we have learnt: the foods we are happy to feed, the ones we keep small, and the short list we will never put in a feed bin or a product. We are a treat company, not a veterinary clinic, so every safety claim below is tied to a named authority, and every decision about your individual horse belongs with your Australian equine vet.

What do horses actually eat? The forage-first basics

A gut built for grazing

Horses are trickle feeders. In a natural setting they graze for most of the day, taking in a steady stream of fibrous plants rather than two big meals. Their digestive system reflects that, which is why forage (grass, hay and other fibrous plant material) has to be the foundation of the diet. RSPCA Australia puts it plainly.

Good equine nutrition starts with that fibre and works outward. As a rough guide, horses eat somewhere around 1.5% to 2.5% of their bodyweight in dry matter each day, and the closer that is to pasture and hay, the happier the hindgut. Hard feeds, supplements and treats all sit on top of that forage base, not in place of it.

Where treats fit (the 10% rule)

Treats are for the relationship, not the nutrition. They are how you say hello, reward good manners under saddle, or make catching your horse a little easier. The widely used rule of thumb is to keep treats and extras to no more than about 10% of the daily diet, and to let pasture, hay and balanced feeds do the heavy lifting. For most horses that works out to one or two pieces of fruit or veg a day, not a bucketful.

Safe, feed with caution, never feed: the master table

Here is the quick-reference version. Use it as a starting point, then read the detail underneath for how to prepare each food and who should skip it. When a food is not on this list, treat that as a reason to check with your vet, not a green light.

Safe fruits horses can eat

Fruit is the sugary end of the treat world, so the theme here is small portions, fed now and then rather than daily. Wash everything, and watch sugar closely for any horse with metabolic concerns.

Can horses eat apples?

Yes, and it is many a horse's favourite. Feed the flesh in small slices and take out the core and seeds first, because apple seeds carry the same cyanogenic compounds as stone-fruit pits. A few slices is plenty. Cutting them small also lowers the risk of choke, which matters more than people expect with a greedy eater who barely chews. If your horse is laminitis-prone, go easy or skip apples altogether.

Can horses eat bananas?

Yes. Bananas are soft, easy to chew and gentle on older mouths, and most horses will happily eat the skin along with the flesh. The catch is sugar, since bananas are sweeter than most vegetables. Offer half a banana or a few slices as a now-and-then treat rather than a daily habit, and leave them out for insulin-resistant horses.

Can horses eat watermelon?

Yes, flesh and rind both. On a hot Queensland afternoon, a few chunks of watermelon are a refreshing way to sneak in some water. Cut it into manageable pieces and remove the big seeds where you can. The flesh is sugary, so keep the serving modest and be cautious with metabolic horses. Plenty of horses prefer the crisp rind to the soft middle.

Can horses eat pears and oranges?

Pears are a yes, prepared just like apples: core and seeds removed, sliced thin, a couple of pieces at a time. Oranges and other citrus sit in the caution camp. They are safe in small amounts, but they are acidic and sugary, and frankly a lot of horses turn their noses up at them. If yours is a citrus fan, a small wedge occasionally is fine. It is not a fruit to make a daily ritual.

Can horses eat grapes and berries?

Grapes are safe as an occasional treat, but halve them so they cannot lodge in the throat, and keep the number low because they are sugary little parcels. Strawberries and other berries are fine too, washed well and fed sparingly for the same sugar reason. None of these are everyday foods. Think of a small handful, shared across a session, not a punnet tipped into the feed bin.

Safe vegetables horses can eat

Vegetables are usually the better everyday option, because most are lower in sugar than fruit while still being crunchy and satisfying. The same rules apply: wash, cut to a sensible size, and introduce anything new slowly.

Can horses eat carrots?

Yes, and they are the gold standard for a reason. Carrots are low in calories, easy to find and almost universally loved. The one habit worth building is cutting them into small pieces rather than feeding a whole carrot, which lowers choke risk for horses that bolt their food. A carrot or two is a generous treat. They do still contain natural sugar, so sugar-sensitive horses should have them limited.

Can horses eat celery?

Yes. Celery is low in sugar, high in water and pleasantly crunchy, which makes it a smart choice for horses that need to watch their waistline. Cut it into short lengths so a long stringy stalk cannot become a choke hazard, and rinse off any grit. Some horses are indifferent to it, others crunch through it happily. Either way, it is a low-risk green to have on hand.

Can horses eat pumpkin?

Yes. Fresh raw pumpkin, cut into chunks, is a firm favourite in plenty of paddocks and is relatively low in sugar. Remove any hard stalk and feed it in pieces a horse can manage. As with every treat, moderation is the rule, and a few chunks is plenty. Skip the heavily spiced or cooked pumpkin from your own kitchen, since horses want it plain, not as pie filling.

Can horses eat cucumber, zucchini and other veg?

Cucumber is a yes and a good one, since it is around 95% water and very low in sugar, which makes it light and hydrating. Zucchini is generally fine in the same small, sliced way. Beyond these, stick to the safe list and be wary of the cabbage family. Brassicas such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower can irritate the gut and cause gas, so they are best kept to tiny amounts, if at all.

What can horses NOT eat? Toxic foods to avoid

This is the part to read twice. The foods below are not "feed with caution", they are "keep away from horses". Some cause harm in a single sizeable feed, others build damage quietly over weeks. With every one of them, the safe amount is none.

Avocado (the toxin: persin)

Avocado is the one that surprises people, because it feels healthy. It is not safe for horses. The toxin is persin, and it is present right through the plant, so flesh, skin, stone and leaves are all off the table. Horses are particularly sensitive. The Animal Poisons Helpline (Australia) describes the harm clearly.

That same helpline notes that "Persin is found throughout the Avocado plant and therefore all parts of the plant are potentially poisonous", and that persin can harm vital organs including the heart and lungs. If you have an avocado tree near a paddock, fence it off. If your horse gets into one, treat it as urgent.

Chocolate and caffeine (the toxin: theobromine)

Chocolate is dangerous for horses, just as it is for dogs. It contains theobromine and caffeine, which the Animal Poisons Helpline describes together as methylxanthines "which are responsible for chocolate's toxic effects in animals". Signs can include hyperactivity, tremor, an increased heart rate, irregular heart rhythm and, with larger amounts, seizures. There is a second reason to keep it away from competition horses: theobromine is a prohibited substance under equestrian anti-doping rules, so even a small "treat" can cause a positive test.

Onion, garlic and other alliums (Heinz body anaemia)

Onion, garlic, leek and chives all belong to the allium family, and all contain sulphur compounds that damage red blood cells. The damaged cells form Heinz bodies and are removed from circulation, which leaves the horse with haemolytic (red-blood-cell-destroying) anaemia. The tricky part is that the damage is cumulative, so a little onion or garlic fed regularly can quietly cause harm without an obvious single "poisoning". Garlic is sometimes marketed as a horse supplement, but the cautious position is to avoid feeding alliums and to ask your vet about any product that contains them.

Potato, tomato and the nightshades (the toxin: solanine)

Potatoes and tomatoes are members of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family, along with their leaves and stems. They contain solanine and related glycoalkaloids, which can cause gastrointestinal upset and, in larger amounts, neurological signs. Green, sprouting or raw potato and the green parts of tomato plants are the most concerning. There is no good reason to feed either, so keep kitchen scraps, garden tomatoes and seed potatoes well away from horses.

Stone-fruit pits and apple seeds (cyanogenic glycosides)

The flesh of apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries and apricots is fine. The pits and seeds are the problem. They contain cyanogenic glycosides that release small amounts of cyanide when the kernel is crushed and chewed. A horse is far less likely to be poisoned than a small child, because the seeds must be broken to release the toxin, and a single cored apple is not a crisis. The sensible habit is simply to remove cores and stones before feeding, so a horse that chews thoroughly is never building up a cyanide load.

Bread, brassicas, rhubarb, dairy and meat

A handful of everyday foods round out the avoid list. Bread, dough and other baked goods are "high in starch" and offer "little nutritional value", and a sudden starch load can disturb the hindgut. Brassicas such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower "can cause irritation of the gastrointestinal tract" and gas, so they are best kept tiny. Rhubarb leaves are high in oxalates and should not be fed. And horses are herbivores: adult horses "no longer produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the sugar lactose", so dairy upsets their digestion, while meat has no place in a hindgut fermenter's diet at all.

Mouldy feed and lawn clippings (mycotoxins and fermentation)

Two of the most common real-world poisonings have nothing to do with exotic foods. Mouldy or spoiled hay and feed can carry mycotoxins that cause colic and digestive upset and contribute to coughing and airway disease, so the rule is simple: if it smells musty, looks dusty or is visibly mouldy, throw it out. Lawn clippings are the other classic trap. Because the grass is already cut, horses gulp it down without chewing, which can lead to choke and to rapid fermentation in the hindgut.

Beyond colic, that same fermentation can tip a susceptible horse into laminitis, a painful and serious condition of the feet. Never tip lawn clippings over the fence, even with good intentions.

How to feed treats safely

The 10% rule and portions

The single most useful habit is to keep treats small and few. In practice, "a good rule of thumb is 1 to 2 treats or pieces per day", with smaller training rewards spread through a session. As a loose guide, treats and extras are best kept to no more than about a tenth of the daily diet, with forage making up the rest. More than that, and you are not treating your horse, you are unbalancing a carefully built diet.

Cut to size and beat the choke

Horses do not chew as carefully as we would like, especially when they are excited. That is why choke (a blockage of the oesophagus) is a genuine risk with hard treats. The fix is easy: cut carrots and apples into small pieces rather than feeding them whole. Thumb-sized or smaller is a good target. Whole apples and long carrots are exactly the shape that lodges, so a few seconds with a knife is cheap insurance.

Sugar, laminitis and the metabolic horse

For some horses, sugar is not just a "keep it moderate" issue, it is a safety one. Horses that are laminitis-prone, insulin-resistant (EMS) or living with Cushing's (PPID) need a low-sugar, low-starch diet, and that includes treats. Australian guidance for laminitis is blunt about it.

If that is your horse, do not guess. Your equine vet or nutritionist can tell you what, if anything, is safe, and a purpose-made ready-made low-sugar horse treat or our safe treats for laminitic and metabolic horses can make sticking to the plan a lot easier.

Is this food safe to feed my horse?

When you are not sure about a new food, run it through this quick screen before it goes over the fence.

Healthy treats for horses (and how we make ours)

What to look for in a treat

A good horse treat does a quiet job: it rewards your horse without unbalancing the diet. When you are reading a label or picking produce, look for low sugar and low starch, a short and recognisable ingredient list, and a size that suits training. Made-in-Australia is worth checking too, both for freshness and so you know what standards the product was made to. Fancy claims are less useful than a simple, honest ingredients panel you can actually read.

How Huds and Toke formulates its horse treats

This is the part we can speak to first-hand, because we make these treats ourselves on the Sunshine Coast. We are not vets, and we do not make health claims about our products. What we can tell you is how we think about formulation, and why.

We keep sugar deliberately low. Australia has a lot of good-doers, ponies and metabolic horses, and we did not want a treat that owners of those horses had to avoid, which is why we make options like ready-made low-sugar horse treats and a veggie-based line. We leave out the obvious problem ingredients entirely: no onion, no garlic, no chocolate, no avocado, nothing from the never-feed list above. We keep the recipes simple and the pieces small, because a treat that is easy to portion is a treat owners can actually keep to a sensible amount. And we make them here, so we know what goes in.

We are honest about the one exception in our range. Our higher-sugar lines (anything molasses-based) are tasty but are not a low-sugar product, so we would never point a laminitic horse's owner at those. The whole point of writing a guide like this is that "horses love it" and "it is right for this horse" are two different questions, and we would rather you bought the right product than the sweetest one.

Training treats and reward feeding

If you do a lot of groundwork or reward-based training, the maths changes a little. You want lots of tiny rewards rather than a few big ones, so the calories stay low even across a long session. Small, low-sugar pieces are ideal, which is why we make small, low-sugar training treats and carrot-based training treats sized for exactly that. For horses that get wound up at competitions or floating, some owners reach for calming treats for anxious or excitable horses such as Calm O's, or for functional treats with turmeric. Whatever you choose, it still counts toward the daily treat budget, and your vet is the right person to advise on supplements for an individual horse.

Feeding special horses: seniors and foals

Senior horses

Older horses often have worn or missing teeth, which makes choke a bigger risk and chewing harder work. For seniors, lean toward soft treats such as banana, or grate or finely chop firmer items like carrot and pumpkin. Soaking can help too. The principles do not change, the textures do. If your senior horse has dental disease or has had a choke before, ask your vet what is safe before you offer anything firm.

Foals

Foals are not small adults. Their digestive systems are still developing, and introducing treats, fruit or vegetables too early can upset an immature gut. The safest approach with a foal is to leave treats out of the picture and let mare's milk and appropriate forage do their job, guided entirely by your equine vet. There is no rush, and nothing to gain by hand-feeding snacks to a very young horse.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

Feeding a horse well is less about a long list of superfoods and more about getting the basics right and not making an avoidable mistake. Build the diet on forage, treat fruit and veg as the small extra they are, cut everything to a size that beats choke, and steer well clear of the genuinely toxic foods: avocado, chocolate, onion and garlic, potato and tomato, stone-fruit pits, mouldy feed and lawn clippings. For a laminitis-prone or metabolic horse, lean toward low sugar and let your vet set the rules.

We have written this from the supply side of the bowl, as a family business that actually makes horse treats here in Australia. We are proud of that, and we are also clear about its limits: we are not your horse's vet. Use this guide to make confident everyday choices, and check anything new or anything to do with a health condition with your Australian equine vet or nutritionist. That combination, sensible habits at home and professional advice when it counts, is what keeps treat time the happy ritual it should be.

References

1. RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase. What should I feed my horse? (forage-first feeding; horses graze and browse for at least twelve hours a day). kb.rspca.org.au (Australia).
2. Animal Poisons Helpline (Australia). Avocado Toxicity in Pets: What Owners Should Know (persin throughout the plant; horses very sensitive; oedema of head and chest; helpline 1300 869 738). animalpoisons.com.au (Australia).
3. Animal Poisons Helpline (Australia). Chocolates (theobromine and caffeine as methylxanthines; clinical signs). animalpoisons.com.au (Australia).
4. Hygain (Australia). What to feed a horse with laminitis (avoid high-starch feeds, including treats such as carrots and apples). hygain.com.au (Australia).
5. Virbac (Australia). Feeding Horses With Laminitis (cut out treats such as apples, carrots, bread; no molasses or honey). au.virbac.com (Australia).
6. RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase. Can I feed my horse on lawn mower clippings and other garden waste? (fresh clippings ferment; gas can rupture the stomach; colic risk). kb.rspca.org.au (Australia).
7. Mad Barn. Can My Horse Eat That Treat? Ultimate Guide to Safe & Healthy Horse Treats (1 to 2 treats per day; cut into bite-sized pieces to reduce choke; methylxanthines in chocolate; lactase and dairy; bread high in starch; brassica GI irritation; low-sugar diet for metabolic horses). madbarn.com (overseas, Canada).
8. Mad Barn. Nightshade Poisoning in Horses (glycoalkaloids such as solanine; gastrointestinal and neurological signs). madbarn.com (overseas, Canada).
9. Kentucky Equine Research. Feeding Treats to Horses (safe fruits and vegetables; cut treats into smaller pieces to reduce choking; offer only one or two pieces). ker.com (overseas, USA).
10. Merck Veterinary Manual. Avocado (Persea spp) Toxicosis in Animals (persin as the toxic principle; clinical effects in horses). merckvetmanual.com (overseas, USA).
11. Missouri Poison Center. The "Pits" of Food Safety (cyanogenic glycosides in fruit pits and seeds release cyanide only when crushed or chewed). missouripoisoncenter.org (overseas, USA).

Sources marked "(overseas)" are international references included where the underlying biology is universal and an Australian equivalent was not available for that specific point. Australian authorities are cited first wherever possible. This article is general information and is not a substitute for advice from your Australian equine vet.